Anbu Hunter
by Trooper0007
Summary: Tensions remain high between the four kingdoms of Remnant and the newly-formed Hoshido kingdom. In the hopes of improving relations, Ozpin invites Hoshido to send a representative to Beacon Academy. Unfortunately for Naruto, he is chosen to be that person. Now he has to deal with a radical faunas terrorist group and a woman with an unknown agenda. Why couldn't his life be simple?
1. Kitsune Trailer

**The Kitsune Trailer**

* * *

Tsunade Senju let out a very audible sigh of irritation as she glared at the man that was sitting in front of her office desk. Apparently, the man had been intelligent enough to speak with the other leaders before he had approached her with this insane proposal. The sennin couldn't reject his plan without looking like a certain warmonger that helped to escalate the conflict between the four kingdoms and the elemental nations to a whole new level of carnage. Thankfully, Danzō's public execution had been enough to convince the kingdoms to accept the temporary armistice that directly led to the peace treaty of Amegakure.

However, the psychological wounds that were caused by the five-year war were slow to heal as tensions still existed between the four kingdoms and the newly-formed Kingdom of Hoshido. Any attempt at improving diplomatic relations from one side was viewed with suspicion and distrust by the other. The smallest of incidents could be enough for hostilities to resume between the two sides. Hence the reason that she was carefully considering the proposal in front of her.

" _This political bullshit is one of the reasons why I didn't want to become the Hokage in the first place."_ The blonde-haired woman thought before she carefully looked over the document with a sharp eye trying to find anything that didn't look right.

For his part, Ozpin was calmly sipping jasmine tea from a porcelain cup that been offered to him by one of the Hokage's assistants. The headmaster of Beacon Academy understood that the woman in front of him was looking for any unreasonable clauses that might've been slipped in. However, he had been the one to come up with this idea and wasn't planning to tell anybody about it until the start of the school year. The senseless violence and hatred that been caused by the war needed to end before it caused more Grimm to appear.

"I can personally assure you that nothing had been put into the document that is offense, lady Tsunade." The white-haired man politely spoke as he slowly lowered his teacup.

Tsunade simply glanced at him for a brief second before returning her focus on the document in hand. Once she was thoroughly satisfied with all of the content within the proposal, she gently placed the document back onto her desk.

"Very well, I will agree to this proposal on the condition that I'll be the one that decides on who will attend your academy." She spoke in a manner that left no room for discussion.

Ozpin nodded his agreement in order to avoid provoking the ire of a woman that supposedly had superhuman strength that could level mountains. The headmaster heard from several collaborators about the slug sennin's temperament and he didn't want a firsthand experience.

"FOX!" The woman suddenly shouted out.

A burst of smoke appeared in the room and temporarily blocked Ozpin's field of vision. After a few seconds, the smoke cleared enough to reveal a young man with spiky blonde-hair and a porcelain Fox mask concealing his face from view. He was wearing the standard attire of a ninja that belonged to the infamous ANBU Black Ops.

"You requested my presence, Hokage-dono?" The masked ninja asked without any emotion as he kneeled down.

From the very edge of his peripheral vision, Ozpin noticed that Tsunade flinched for a second at the emotionless tone that her ninja had used. It was pretty obvious to him that she had known the person behind the mask before they had ended up like this.

"As you known that the tensions between the four kingdoms of remnant and Hoshido kingdom are still high. Mister Ozpin has proposed that a ninja of appropriate age attends Beacon Academy in order to help defuse lingering hatred between the two sides." The Hokage spoke in a very even tone.

Fox didn't say or do anything that would indicate that he was aware of the world's political situation. After the death of his friends and classmates, he'd simply stopped caring about the events that were happening around the elemental nations. However, it didn't mean that he was completely clueless about what was going on around him. He still remained in contact with several people that he had befriended during his days as a Genin of Konohagakure.

"The remaining Kage and I have decided that for the sake of peace with the gaijin, we will abide with his request for the time being." Tsunade continued to explain to the Anbu agent.

Fox continued to remain silent as he hadn't been give permission to speak by the last Hokage of Konoha.

"Therefore, you will be accompanying Ozpin to his academy in the Kingdom of Vale as a representative of Hoshido. So please remove your mask and introduce yourself." The Slug sennin instructed to the Anbu agent.

Fox let out a sad sigh of resignation before standing up in order to remove the porcelain mask that he had earned through years of hard work. He removed the mask to reveal a handsome face with cheeks that were adorned by three whisker-like scars apiece.

"Hello, Headmaster Ozpin. My name is Naruto Uzumaki and it's a pleasure to meet you." The former Anbu agent spoke in a polite manner.

* * *

 **Okay, the start of a new story for you to enjoy. I got the premise of this story from reading** _ **ANBU Naruto becomes a student of Beacon**_ **by** **10000future Naruto** **. I decided to make my own version of the story with a few key differences that I'll be explaining in the story. So with that being said, please a review with your thoughts about the story.**

 **Until next time readers, Hoorah to Ashes!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Tragic Ghosts From The Past**

* * *

Naruto stared sadly at a list of names that were engraved onto a black gabbro wall that stretched for sixteen-thousand square meters. The majority of the names were from people that had died during the shinobi world wars, but a good number belonged to people that had died in the recent war with the four kingdoms. It was a very hallowed experience to see thousands of names craved into this memorial wall. It was a solemn reminder of the terrible price that humanity paid for its hubris. However, this portion of the wall was particularly dear to the former Genin of Konohagakure.

" _I don't know if you guys can hear me from Yomi-no-kuni, but I just wanted all of you to know that you're sorely missed."_ The former Anbu agent thought as a tear started to form in the corner of his right eye.

The Jinchūriki gently placed a glove-covered hand onto the giant stone tablet that listed the names that belonged to seven members of the rookie nine. The former Anbu agent could have sworn that he could see the reflections of his fallen friends looking back at him. Each of them had a look of sadness on their faces as the spirit of Hinata placed her petite hand in the exact same spot as Naruto's hand. Without any sign of hesitation or shame in his action, he lowered his head and allowed the tears to fall.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I wasn't there to protect you from harm like I had promised." He sobbed out as tears flowed freely without any interruption.

A few yards away, the retired-Jōnin ninja known as Kakashi Hatake was sitting in a wheelchair with a look of sympathy in his only visible eye. The double-amputee could easily relate to the feeling of losing friends in battle as it had happened to him during the third shinobi world war.

"Naruto, none of them would want you to blame yourself for their deaths." The son of Sakumo Hatake softly spoke to his last student.

Naruto's head quickly shot up into the air at hearing the familiar sound of his former sensei's voice. While it was frowned upon for ninja to show emotions, the rule was ignored at the memorial wall as everybody had lost somebody in the war. Often times, one would be able to find a small child crying in front of a stone tablet that contained the name of a fallen parent or parents.

"I can't help to blame myself for not being able to save them, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto explained as he wiped the tears from his eyes with the elbow-length glove on his right arm.

Despite being ordered to remove his mask in Tsunade's office, he decided to continue wearing his Anbu uniform for reasons of practicality. Most of the remaining ninja that survived the war had been in Anbu at some point in their careers. It wasn't uncommon to walk down the street and see somebody garbed in the black ops unit's uniform without a porcelain mask on their face. In many ways, the uniform was a symbol of the fact that Shinobi were retreating into the shadows in order to allow the Samurai to take center stage.

Kakashi let out a sigh as he knew about Naruto's guilt about being able to survive the war without suffering life-threatening injuries. The Uzumaki's healing factor and tremendous life force was able ensure that the blonde was able to get to a field hospital in order to receive medical treatment.

"Naruto, you need to simply accept the fact that you can't save everyone in the world. Do you really thing that your friends would want you to remain hung up on their deaths?" The silver-haired man argued in the hopes of making his former pupil see reason.

Naruto said nothing as he knew that Kakashi had a point on both accounts, but wasn't able to openly admit it. Seeing this silence as a chance to prevent Minato's son from walking down a similar path that he took, the retired ninja continued to lecture.

"Do you really think that Hinata would want you wasting the rest of your life in mourning over her?" The silver-haired man commented offhandedly.

Naruto looked down at the ground as he mentally contemplated on what Kakashi had said to him. While the Jinchūriki knew that his former Jōnin-sensei was right about Hinata, it would be difficult to forget about the only girl that truly loved him with all of her heart. He looked over at the memorial wall and saw Hinata standing within the stone's reflective surface.

" _ **Naruto-kun, the few weeks that we spent together were the happiest days of my life and I regret nothing about it. I want you to promise me that you'll find somebody that you can spend the rest of your life with and settle down with them."**_ The reflection of Hinata spoke in a soft and tender manner that had always soothed him after a difficult battle.

Ignoring the possibility that he might be going crazy, the idea that Hinata would want him to move on was something that was hard for him to comprehend. However, the princess of the defunct Hyūga clan was one of the few people that he would've done anything to keep happy.

"I promise that I'll try to find somebody that is kind-hearted like you, Hinata." Naruto whispered as the reflection of the girl that he had loved started to fade away.

* * *

 **A few days later**

* * *

Ozpin was standing patiently at the eastern gate of the hidden village's defensive wall as he waited for Naruto Uzumaki to appear. After the meeting with Lady Tsunade, the young man had completely disappeared before the two of them could talk. The two of them had a long journey ahead of them and he wanted to explain a few things on the way before they went to Patch Island to meet with a colleague.

" _He certainly lives up to the fearful reputation of that ninja had acquired during the war."_ The headmaster mentally commented with some amusement.

During the war, ninja had earned the reputation for being absolute masters of stealth and being grim reapers on the battlefield. The aerial bombing campaign had been started up as a countermeasure as rumors had spread about shinobi being disguised as civilians. It would be deeply regretted as the pain and suffering caused by the bombing was enough to cause several new species of Grimm to appear.

"Excuse me, stranger-san? Is there a reason why you are standing near the gate?" A ninja asked with some suspicion in their voice.

Ozpin let out a sign of displeasure as he turned to address the person that had questioned him about his purpose for being in the village. It was starting to become known across Remnant that the people of Hoshido were distrustful of outsiders on the account of the war. However, the paranoia that shinobi felt towards Gaijin was on a whole different level than everybody else.

"I'm currently waiting for somebody that the Kages have personally assigned to attend my Academy in the Kingdom of the Vale." Ozpin truthfully answered to the gate guard.

The gate guard nodded his head in understanding as rumors had been floating around about the Emperor's orders for them to make peace with the outsiders. While many people were bitter towards the four kingdoms over the deaths of their loved ones, they knew better than to defy the Emperor's wishes. Like the newly-formed Samurai class, ninja had been trained to obey the commands of those in charge.

"Excuse me, Ozpin-san. I believe that you were looking for me?" A somewhat familiar voice commented from behind him.

The headmaster turned his head around with speeds that didn't seem to be possible for humans and found Naruto Uzumaki standing there with a cheeky grin on his face. He was still wearing the same uniform that he had worn on day that Tsunade had summoned him to her office. However, he had made some minor modifications to his clothing that seemed appropriate for a ninja. For starters, he had added a skin-tight mask that concealed the lower portion of his face from everybody. Around his forehead was a black long-clothed bandanna that had a metal plate engraved with the kanji for shinobi in the center of it.

"Yes, I believe that we need to leave today if we're to arrive at the ship taking us to Vale in a timely manner. So I strongly recommend that we leave right now and I'll be able to make it to the harbor by nightfall." Ozpin explained to the teenaged ninja.

At hearing this suggestion, Naruto chuckled at the man's assumption that it would only take a few days to get the only port that was open to the four kingdoms. Ozpin looked visibly confused at hearing chuckling about his statement from the younger man.

"In a normal situation, you would be right about the travel taking at least a day to reach a port city from a mountain village. However, all of the roads in this area are covered in booby traps and illusions that designed to stall any would-be attackers. It'll take us a few days before we reach the port city of Satsuma." Naruto explained to the headmaster.

Ozpin simply nodded his head in understanding as it had taken a few days to safely reach the ninja village with the help of a ninja guide that had provided to him by the order of the emperor.

"Anyways…our best option is to make it to the first checkpoint by nightfall and holdup there until morning. The predatory animals in this area are mostly nocturnal and been known for ambushing travelers that aren't paying attention to their surroundings. The local species of Grimm are notorious pack-hunters with a level of intelligence and comprehension that is equal to humanity's own capabilities." Naruto calmly explained the situation that they were facing to the headmaster.

Ozpin simply nodded his head in understanding as he had read the disturbing reports about the Grimm that inhabited the lands of Hoshido. He also remembered Professor Port's enthusiasm at slaying new species of Grimm that had appeared.

"Very well, I shall follow your lead for the time being." The headmaster commented as Naruto walked passed him.

It was always far better and safer to allow a local to lead you through a dangerous area than running head first into it without a proper plan of action. Besides, he saw this as a perfect chance to learn about the ninja that managed to destroy three elite divisions of Atlesian troops.

* * *

 **Okay, a new chapter for you to enjoy. This is basically a filler chapter until the next chapter that shows Naruto's mental state as he leaves the Hidden village for the Kingdom of Vale to start his new mission. He's going to have a lot of issues at Beacon Academy for being from Hoshido.**

 **For clothing, he's going to wearing the standard Konohagakure Anbu Black Ops uniform with a few key differences in foot wear and mask. Instead of the open-toed sandals that everybody seems to wear in the anime and manga, he's going to be wearing Jika-tabi boots. On missions, he is going to be wearing bandages on the lower portion of his face like a mask in the same way that Zabuza did. While at school, he's going to wearing Kakashi-style mask.**

 **With that being said, please leave a review about the chapter. So until next readers, Hoorah to Ashes!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Setting Up the Chess Board**

* * *

Naruto was calmly leaning against a wall in the back of the airship that was carrying him towards Beacon Academy with his arms folded across the chest. He was silently observing the two dozen hunters-in-training that were locked inside of the aircraft with him and trying to rate them in terms of threat-level. So far, he could only see a few people that could be truly considered a threat to him in combat. The others were a minor nuisance at the very most and could easily be eliminated by a single Genin that had just graduated from the Academy.

" _I'll have to gather information on the different type of Grimm that live in the Kingdom of Vale and send it back to the village."_ The Jinchūriki mentally noted before turning his attention on a hologram that was tuned onto a news channel.

It had been very surprising for him to learn that the four kingdoms didn't have any censorship laws on the media outlets. Ozpin had told him that restricting the press' freedom was the first step towards having a government that was ruled by a dictator. However, Naruto disagreed with the headmaster's assessment as Hoshido had censorship laws in place and they weren't a dictatorship. Then again, Ozpin was thinking about it from a point of view that came with living in the Kingdom of Vale for years.

The hologram showed a woman with white-hair and amber eyes sitting next to an image of animal-eared demonstrators that were holding signs saying "We're not animals!" followed by a logo of a growling red wolf's head with three scratch marks behind it. At seeing the mark of the White Fang on the hologram, Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted..." the woman spoke before Naruto tuned her out.

It seemed like White Fang was actively trying to ruin the lives of other people in the four kingdoms. During the war, a large number of faunas had immigrated to the land of Hoshido and volunteered to fight against the four kingdoms of Remnant. While a little hesitant to trust outsiders with fighting their battles, the newly-established emperor of Hoshido had authorized them to join the military. It was a decision that would come back to haunt everybody in the future.

"I need to ask permission from the Kage to hunt down and eliminate any members of White Fang that I come across." Naruto muttered as he recalled how Kiba's mother had been murdered by a member of white fang that had enlisted in a volunteer regiment.

It was at this moment that the news reporter was replaced by a middle-aged woman with light blonde-hair that was tied into a bun with a single curl hanging over the right side of her face. Her emerald-green eyes and glasses helped to make the woman look more mature. For clothing, she was wearing a white long-sleeved suit that exposed part of her chest, and came with puffy sleeves that tighten near the wrist before spreading back out near her hands. Her lower body had on a black business skirt with copper buttons running in a vertical line up the front of it and lighter black-brown stockings. She was also wearing a pair of black boots that had brown heels. For some very odd reason, she had a tattered black and purple cape draped over her shoulders. Overall, she looked a lot like a younger version of Tsunade Baa-chan that didn't drink alcohol and actually took her job seriously.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon Academy!"The woman spoke in a polite and courteous manner.

Naruto could hear several people question others about the identity of the mysterious woman. He wanted to scoff at the stupidity of some people as there was a pretty good chance that the woman was going to introduce herself in a few seconds.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." The now identified woman commented.

The jinchūriki could only shake his head in amusement as several people showed signs of blushing in embarrassment at asking such a stupid question. It was kind of like the old saying went: you ask a dumb question then you'll get a dumb answer.

"You are among a privileged few that have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." Glynda spoke in a serious manner.

At hearing this proclamation, Naruto could only roll his eyes. It was pretty clear that this was simply a prerecord message from before the war and somebody had forgotten to update it. The casualties from the war between Remnant and Hoshido were estimated to be around eighteen million lives. If that weren't a major conflict, then he would hate to see what Remnant considered to be one. He would acknowledge the fact that all of the fighting had taken place on a single the continent. However, the ninja coalition had been preparing to launch a series of attacks on the four kingdoms before the ceasefire had gone into effect.

" _Atlas and Schnee Corporation had definitely lucked out as ero-sennin had just finished the super explosive seals as we were almost ready to deploy."_ The Jinchūriki mentally mused as he looked around the airship's main compartment to observe the other would-be students.

It was at this very moment that Naruto took notice of a girl with long and curly blonde-hair that looked to be around his age. However, what really captured his attention was the shape of the girl's face as it was similar to the face of a huntress that he had fought in the war. While most ninja tended to forget about the people that they've fought, he had taken a different approach with memorable people. Out of the countless people that he had fought, only four of them could be considered noteworthy.

"Perhaps, she's the daughter of Raven Branwen?" He whispered in a low tone.

Whatever the case, he was going to keep a close eye on her in the hopes of having a rematch with the black-haired woman wearing red and black clothing.

* * *

If there was ever a reason for Ozpin to take up drinking, it would be dealing with Glynda and Ironwood criticizing his decision to allow a ninja to attend Beacon Academy. Both of them were opposed to allowing somebody from Hoshido to learn the skills that hunters used in the field. Neither of them could see the reason behind his decision as they were wrapped up in grudges that were caused by the war.

"The both of you need to keep your hatred in check and listen to the reasons as to why I did this without consulting anybody." The headmaster calmly spoke as he tried to urge his friends to see reason.

Both Glynda and Ironwood shot the grey-haired man with a nasty look that demanded a sound explanation for this madness.

"As the two you know, I had interrogated dozens of civilians from the various ninja villages that been captured during the war." Ozpin started to explain to his colleagues.

Ironwood and Glynda nodded their heads as they recalled the dejected expressions that would be on their friend's face following a long interrogation. Both of them would agree that he didn't have the stomach to use the enhanced methods to gain information.

"In a couple of the sessions, something that is called a Jinchūriki was mentioned by accident. Curious about the term, I asked Bartholomew develop something to allow me to figure out its meaning." The headmaster spoke as he turned his chair around to watch an airship dock at a landing pad.

Glynda remembered that the good doctor had spent weeks trying to develop a system that could translate Hoshido's unique language. Ironwood nodded his head as Doctor Oobleck's device had made policing the occupied territories a lot easier for Atlas. In many ways, the device helped prevent any significant linguistic misunderstandings between the locals and the troops.

"Anyways, I discovered that the word roughly translates to power of human sacrifice. With a firm understanding of the definition, I had Oobleck research the mythological stories from Hoshido that focused on Jinchūriki and anything connected to the term. What he found is both fascinating and horrifying." Ozpin commented as the information on Jinchūriki flashed in his mind.

General Ironwood raised a neatly-trimmed eyebrow as he had a terrible gut feeling that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. With the war over, he needed to shift his focus on rebuilding the Atlesian military as discipline and morale had completely collapsed. The last thing that he needed was having the knowledge that Hoshido had super weapons at its disposal.

* * *

 **Okay, a new chapter for you to enjoy. I decided to change the story from adventure/humor to a story that focuses on adventure/hurt/comfort.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Meeting Little Red Riding Hood**

* * *

Naruto couldn't help to raise a neatly-trimmed eyebrow at the castle-like structure that was Beacon Academy as he stared impassively at it. While the building was a very impressive sight to behold, it was nothing in comparison to the numerous castles in Hoshido. While the building was aesthetically-pleasant to look at, it had little to offer in terms of military advantages for the defenders in case of attacks. With the castle designs in Hoshido, defense was top priority and the structure's beauty was created purely by accident on the account of the building-style that was practiced.

" _Perhaps, the builders believed that a building filled with hunters-in-training would be enough of a deterrent for attackers? It doesn't seem logical as the closest kingdom is to the west of Vale, so why did they build a school like Beacon Academy in this way?"_ The blonde-haired ninja mentally theorized as everybody walked passed him without notice.

It perfectly suited him that people were openly ignoring him as Emperor Gōda expected from his ninja to remain unseen by the general population. The one of the few exceptions to this rule were ninja that are a part of Oniwabanshū as they lived and trained within the imperial grounds. At one point, he had been asked to join the group after saving the royal family from assassins that were working on the behalf of the Four Kingdoms.

"Man, Tsunade-Bāchan really wanted to skin me alive after she learned that I refused such a prestigious request." Naruto mused as he shivered in fear at the memory.

There was a very good reason that Tsunade was considered to be one of the most feared kunoichi in history. The woman was capable of shattering mountains with a single punch and curing a person from any sort of disease that wasn't terminal. However, she had developed a debilitating case of hemophobia after witnessing her lover die from battle-inflicted wounds in the Second Shinobi World War. It was only thanks to him that she managed to overcome her fear for the most part.

The blonde-haired ninja was pulled out of his reminiscing by a sudden commotion that was a few yards away. Naruto turned his attention towards the commotion and found a girl that had black-hair with red tips was spinning around in circles.

"Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we even have dorms?" A girl with dizzy-eyes called out as she spun around in circles.

Naruto couldn't help to feel sorry for the girl as she looked out of place in comparison with everybody else. If he had to make an educated guess about the girl's age, the Jinchūriki would estimate her to have just turned fifteen within the last few months. So now that brought a new line of questions to the forefront of his mind. Why a fifteen-year-old would be allowed entry to a school that required would-be students to be at least seventeen in order to attend?

"I don't know what I'm doing..." The young girl said as she managed to stop spinning around in circles.

However, Naruto could tell that she was still reeling from the ordeal and started counting down until she fell. Sure enough, the girl fell backwards into a luggage cart and caused several cases to fly into the air. A girl with white-hair scowled at the first girl. _A_ s much as he wanted to intervene to prevent a potential disaster, he didn't want to be anywhere close to a girl that reminded him of Sasuke Uchiha.

 _"_ _What are you doing?!" the white-haired girl scolded as she glared at the younger girl._

The girl that had black-hair with red tips got up on her hands and gave a quick apology. However, the white-haired girl wasn't in a forgiving mood as she continued to scold the other girl.

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?" She demanded in a rude and condescending manner.

Naruto frowned in open disgust at the arrogance that was being shown in front of him. It reminded him of the attitude that Sasuke during their days at the academy in Konohagakure, the last member of the Uchiha had acted like everybody in the village owed him.

"Uuhhh….." The girl that had black-hair with red tips said as she picked up a suitcase.

The blonde-haired ninja's instincts told him that something funny was about to happen and it involved those two girls.

"Give me that! This is dust that was mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"The white-haired girl snarled as she snatched the luggage away from the smaller girl and opened it to reveal the twinkling-sounding contents within.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger at the mentioning of the Schnee Company as he noticed the Conglomerate's logo on the back of the white-haired girl's jacket. During the war, the company enslaved countless of villagers and forced them to mine for dust. Hundreds of people died from malnutrition and the horrible working conditions that they were forced to endure. It was even rumored that scientists working for the company had been conducting inhumane experiments on captured samurai and ninja.

Uuuhhhh..." The first girl lamely spoke as she tried to get a word in.

However, the second girl wasn't allowing it to happen.

What are you, brain-dead? Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!" The snarky girl scolded as she held out a vial of red Dust and shut the case.

Naruto scoffed at the four kingdom's constant reliance on dust as there was only a finite supply of the stuff in the world. Unlike the businesses in Hoshido that tended to use recyclable material, the Schnee Company was trying to pump as much material out of the earth as possible. Once they were done sucking out the recourses from the area, they would simply move onto the next.

"I... I know..." The girl with black hair and red tips tried to say before she started coughing from the Dust that was being pouring into her face.

With a gleeful smile on his face, the representative of Hoshido was mentally counting down before something happened.

"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!" The white-haired girl demanded without realizing the situation that she was facing.

The wannabe red riding hood let out a powerful sneeze that quickly erupted into a full-blown explosion of flames, snowflakes, and electricity right onto the person that was responsible. The bottle that the white-haired girl had been holding flew over the courtyard and at the feet of a girl with a black bow that was reading from a book.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" The white-haired girl commented in disgust.

Naruto wanted to laugh at the seeing one of the Schnee Company's heiress covered from head to toe in soot.

"I'm really, really sorry!" The girl that had black-hair with red tips said in a tone that showed that she was sorry the incident.

The white-haired girl quickly cleaned herself of soot and shot a nasty glare at the smaller girl.

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" She questioned after firing off another insult.

It was painfully obvious by now that the white-haired girl wasn't a people's person by any means of the imagination. In many ways, she was reminded Naruto of the terrible attitude that the civilian council had shown towards everybody before the war.

Well, I-I..." The girl with the red hood tried to explain.

The white-haired girl started ranting at the fact that a fifteen-year-old was walking around one of the most prestigious academies in the world like she was a student.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!" the heiress of Schnee company yelled as she akimbo her arms.

By this point, the young girl that was cosplaying as red riding hood had reached her breaking point.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" the girl snapped in a tone that showed that she was fed up with the white-haired girl's attitude.

It was at this moment that the girl with bow on her head started to walk over to the bickering duo. With the eyes of a hawk, Naruto spotted that the ribbon would occasionally twitch like something was being concealed by the fabric. It was painfully obvious that the black-haired girl was a Faunus that was trying to avoid detection for some unknown reason by blending in with regular humans.

"It's heiress, actually." The ribbon wearing girl commented as she entered the conversation.

Both the girl in the red-hood and the white-haired girl looked over as the girl with the bow approached them with the bottle in hand.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." The girl with the bow on her head continued on.

Weiss started smiling smugly at finding somebody that recognized the greatest of her family.

"Finally! Some recognition!" She proudly exclaimed.

For the second time that day, Naruto started a mental countdown until something happened that the Schnee heiress wouldn't like. If he had to guess, the disguised faunas would make a comment about the questionable actions of the company.

"The same company that's infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." The girl with the bow commented as she held out the vial of dust.

At hearing about the actions of her father, Weiss went red in the face with absolute anger. The fact that the girl in the red hood was chuckling at her anger was only adding more fuel to the proverbial fire.

"Wha- How dare you- The nerve of... Ugh!" Weiss stuttered before getting up into the girl with the bow's face.

Without any hesitation, she yanked the bottle away before walking off in a huff as her helpers gathered the luggage and followed suit.

With the entertainment over, Naruto started walking over to the girl in the red hood. The girl seem to be socially-awkward to the point that he was willing to make a bet that she wasn't aware of the war between Hoshido and the four kingdoms of Remnant. Besides, it might help him to gain a meeting with the blonde-haired lookalike of Raven Branwen.

* * *

Ruby Rose was sitting in the fetal position as her left finger was making imaginary circles in the rock walkway. After Weiss had stormed off in anger at having her family's reputation insulted, the girl that came to her rescue had walked off without bothering to introduce herself.

"Welcome to Beacon…" she muttered to herself in sadness.

She continued to fiddle around with the ground until a shadow covered her form. She looked up to see a young man standing over her with a hand extended out in a friendly manner. What was really odd about the stranger was the fact that he had a mask covering the lower portion of his face. Another interesting feature about the guy's clothing was the black bandanna with a metal plate that was tied around his forehead.

"It looks like you need a hand, little lady." The figure politely spoke as the sun prevented her from completely seeing the fellow hunter-in-training's clothing and other noticeable features.

With some hesitation, she took the offered hand and was hoisted to her feet. The fifteen-year-old was able to get a better look at the rest of the clothing that the young man was wearing and felt a ping of fear in the back of her mind. However, she would admit that his clothes looked kind of cool. In some ways, the clothing reminded her of the uniforms that those dangerous commandos wore in Uncle Qrow's stories.

"Thank you…Uuhhh." Ruby started to say before realizing that she didn't know his name.

In a way that the scythe-user didn't think possible the weirdly-dressed teen smiled using only his eyes.

"I go by the codename of fox." The blonde-haired teen calmly commented.

A giant question mark appeared over Ruby's head as that was another similarity that the guy shared with the shadow warriors in her uncle's war stories. See the confusion in her eyes, fox chuckled in amusement and he decided to enlighten her about his introduction.

"Don't take it personal or anything, but I only allow close friends to use my real name in conversations." He explained to the gothic-looking girl.

What he didn't tell her was the fact that he started doing this after a collaborator had overheard a conversation between him and Rock Lee about a recent mission. The traitorous bastard notified a squad of Atlesian soldiers about Lee's presence in the village in exchange for two-thousand pieces of silver. The squad managed to capture bushy brows and tortured him to death in retaliation for a recent defeat.

"Okay….anyway, my name is Ruby." Ruby introduced herself in a friendly manner.

Unbeknownst the two teenagers, Ozpin was calmly watching them from a video feed in the comfort of his office.

* * *

 **Okay, people. Here's a list of Konoha Twelve that either killed in action (KIA), missing in action (MIA), or still active in the story's universe. I don't want any complaints from you about your favorite characters being killed off as I randomly drew names from a hat. If you guys want to know how they died, then leave it in a review.**

 **Shino Aburame** **(KIA)**

 **Chōji Akimichi** **(KIA)**

 **Sakura Haruno** **(KIA)**

 **Hinata Hyūga** **(KIA)**

 **Neji Hyūga** **(KIA)**

 **Kiba Inuzuka** **(MIA)**

 **Rock Lee** **(KIA)**

 **Shikamaru Nara** **(MIA)**

 **Tenten** **(Active)**

 **Sasuke Uchiha (Active)**

 **Naruto Uzumaki** **(Active)**

 **Ino Yamanaka** **(KIA)**

 **With that being said, please leave a review on the chapter. Until next time, Hoorah to Ashes!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: The Scattered Ashes of a Fallen Clan**

* * *

The courtyard of Beacon Academy is filled with scenic trees, arching architecture, and a winding road that rested alongside a river. It was this road that Naruto and Ruby were walking on as they argued about the pro and cons of transformable weapons. While the blonde-haired jinchūriki could understand the benefits of owning such weapons, the constant need for maintenance was a major turnoff. At the same time, Ruby acknowledged the limitations of Remnant's choice in weaponry.

"I'm just saying that the benefit of having a weapon with multiple forms offsets the negatives." Ruby loudly exclaimed as she tried to convince her new friend to change his mind about transformable weapons.

While the implementation of transformable weapons was a recent phenomenon, the concept been around for fifty years and was rapidly gaining support around Remnant. Most of the criticisms about it were coming from conservative old-timers that had used single-type weapons during their careers. So it was very surprising for her to meet somebody that was around her age to dislike the idea.

"I get what you're saying, Ruby. However, such weapons are a lot more fragile in comparison to weapons with a single function." Naruto calmly countered.

Ruby had to concede defeat on that particular argument as she often spent several hours replacing the firing bolt of Crescent Rose after a week of use. When she had first designed the high-caliber Sniper-Scythe, its firing pin had been designed for 7.62x51mm rounds and not the 12.7×99mm rounds that she was currently using. It was something that she had been meaning to fix for some time.

"So... I got this thing!" Ruby said as she pulled out Crescent Rose and stabs it into the ground.

Naruto blinked in surprise at the sight of a weapon that was considered to be extremely dangerous to master. During the war, he had only fought against two scythe-users and both of them had used very different styles that required different responses. The first had been a man from the kingdom of Vale that wielded a scythe that doubled as a sword and as a giant handgun. The second had been a missing-ninja from Yugakure that used a triple-bladed scythe in battle.

"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" He asked in a mixture of faked and genuine surprise.

Ruby nodded her head in confirmation. While many people weren't capable of mastering the scythe as a combat weapon on the account of the curved blade, many could recognize the cultural significance behind the farming tool turned weapon.

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!" She excitedly commented with some pride.

For once in this conversation, Naruto was confused by something that the girl had said. During the war, the four kingdoms had deployed soldiers with rifles equipped with telescopic sights in the hopes of countering ninja that were masters of stealth and kyūjutsu. However, he had no clue as to what high-impact meant in terms of sniping.

"A-what...?" He asked with some confusion.

Ruby must've token notice as she decided to simplify her previous statement.

"It's a gun that fires a really big bullet at superfast speeds." Ruby said with a smile before cocking the weapon.

Now Naruto felt really stupid at the revelation of what high-impact meant in the sniper world.

"Oh. That's cool!" he exclaimed to avoid further embarrassment on his part.

Ruby must've sensed this or wanted to change the topic for some other reason.

"So what've you got?" She eagerly asked to her new friend.

To her, the weapon that a person used in battle was a greater identifier of a person's personality than their semblance. For example, a person that used a giant hammer tended to rely on brute strength in battle and disregarded any form of strategy.

"I have this Katana." Naruto answered as he unsheathed the weapon and showed it to the girl.

The blade is widely-believed to have been forged from a dragon's fang that had been willingly donated to one of Hoshido's greatest bladesmith. The fact that the great sage of the dragons was the one that had presented the blade to him was enough to lend credibility to the old legend.

"Ooooohh!" Ruby said as her eyes started sparkling in awe.

Naruto chuckled to himself as Ruby's actions reminded him of how Tenten reacted to seeing Remnant's weapons for the first time. The poor girl had been removed from the active-duty roster and reassigned to the hidden village's research and development unit. The last that he heard, she was practically begging Tsunade to resume field assignments to no avail.

"Yeah, and I've got other weapons with me as well." He said as he pulled out a scroll that contained the extra weapons.

Unlike the hunters of Remnant that only used one or two weapons, shinobi were trained to use dozens of different weapons for various situations. From a longbow to serrated tantō knife, the arsenal of a shinobi was filled with exotic weapons needed to accomplish a specific task.

"So, what do they do?" Ruby asked as she looked over the curved and single-edged sword with a critical eye.

The weapon was absolutely beautiful in her opinion as it looked like a piece of art. But deep down, Ruby knew that the sword was designed for the sole purpose of bring a swift and violent death to those that stood in its wielder's way.

"I have weapons for all kinds of situations that I might find myself in." Naruto commented as the literally truth was sealed away in a small scroll.

He calmly put the scroll way in his back pouch as his flak jacket didn't have pouches in front of it like the ones that Jōnin and Chūnin from Konoha used to wear.

"But... wouldn't the weapons weigh the same?" Ruby asked with confusion as she didn't know about the basic principles of fūinjutsu.

The art of fūinjutsu had come as a very nasty surprise to Remnant's coalition forces during the course of the war. A squad of samurai and ninja archers could block out the sun with the use of a special arrows that had thousands of regular arrows sealed inside.

"Nope." Naruto succinctly answered with a back-of-the-throat emphasis on the "o".

Ruby let out a girlish giggle at the way that her new friend had responded to her question.

"Well, your weapon is extremely beautiful and very practical for somebody that wants to become a hunter. However, its simplicity makes me feel that I went overboard when designing my weapon." She commented as the scythe-sniper rifle in question transformed into its inactive form.

Naruto blinked owlishly at the startling revelation that a fifteen-year-old girl had built that red monstrosity by herself.

"Wait - you made that?!" He asked in genuine surprise.

At the very most, he knew how to properly maintain all of his equipment.

"Of course, all of the students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?" Ruby asked as she thought that all academies required their students to make their own weapons.

Naruto grumbled in frustration at another thing that the hidden village would need to do if it were to establish its own hunter academy.

"It was a gift from a group of people that I helped out a few years ago." He lied through the skin of teeth.

He didn't know how Ruby would react if he told her that the sword was given to him by a fire-breathing dragon.

"Sounds more like the start of a family heirloom to me! Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days." Ruby said as she started to laugh.

The fifteen-year-old girl didn't realize that her words had unintentionally struck a chord with Naruto.

"Yeah, a family heirloom..." Naruto muttered as he sheathed the sword back into its scabbard that was on his back.

During the war, he had learned about the Uzumaki clan during an encounter with a group of retired shinobi hailing from Iwagakure. Jumping at a chance to learn about his possible heritage, he snuck into the Konoha's public records during a lull in the fighting. Inside of the unassuming building, he discovered that the civilian council had illegally-confiscated the inheritance that his mother had left for him in order to pay for the damages that "he" had caused to the village. A long story made short, he ended up spending a month inside of a prison cell for his justifiable actions.

"So why'd you help me out back in the courtyard?" Ruby asked as she switched topics.

Naruto paused briefly as he tried to figure out how to explain his motivations without actually having to explain them. Unable to come up with a reasonable excuse, he decided to turn the tables around and ask a question of his own.

"Does a person really need a reason to help somebody?" He calmly asked.

He could easily tell that Ruby was incredibly-naive about the horrible and harsh truth of the world. In many ways, she was similar to the countless kids that had entered the academy with heads filled with romanticized ideas that glorified the shinobi lifestyle.

"Hmm….Hey, where are we going?" Ruby asked as she looked around in an effort to get her bearings.

Naruto couldn't help to chuckle to himself at the situation.

* * *

 **THREE MINUTES LATER**

* * *

As the two of them walked towards the auditorium, Ruby was happily talking about why she was allowed to attend Beacon Academy at the age of fifteen. To the uninformed outsider, it looked like a pair of friends that were simply shooting the breeze to pass time. For Naruto, it was oddly relaxing for the Jinchūriki as the conversation made him feel human again.

"So who taught you how to fight like that?" He asked in the hopes of confirming a suspicion that he had about Ruby.

Several of the gestures that she made during her story about stopping a band of criminals were reminiscent of moves that Qrow had used during the war. Naruto didn't believe in coincidences after witnessing several encounters between Orochimaru and a woman with red irises that would be followed by a massive Grimm attack on a settlement or a military outpost. The fact that evidence would appear after each attack that pinned the blame on the other side and escalated the conflict had further cemented his beliefs.

"My Uncle Qrow was the one that taught me!" Ruby proudly answered.

Naruto could only chuckle in amusement at having his suspicion confirmed about the girl's teacher.

"RUBY, sis!" A voice yelled out before he could make a comment.

Naruto turned around and spotted the girl that he had been observing on the airship. She had wavy blonde-hair that easily reached pass her butt and stylized in the same manner as Raven Branwen. Her eyes were a slightly-lighter shade of lavender than the eyes of people from the Hyūga clan. Finally, she had a stunning hourglass-figure with a pair of D-cup breast on her chest. Overall, she looked like a much younger version of Tsunade with a different eye color and style of hair.

" _Please don't let her be an alcoholic and have super strength like Baa-chan."_ He mentally prayed to any deity that was willing to listen.

The last thing that he really needed to deal with at the moment was a seventeen-year-old girl that acted like the legendary slug Sennin.

"Hey Yang, over here!" Ruby called out as she wanted to introduce the new friend that she made to her half-sister.

The now-identified Yang wore a smile on her face as she walked over to her younger half-sister. That smile lasted until she saw Naruto's forehead protector and it became pretty obvious that she believed in the propaganda that depicted warriors from Hoshido as ruthless barbarians.

"I'll see you around Ruby." Naruto quickly commented before leaving to link up with the rest of the entering freshmen.

Ruby didn't get a chance to understand the situation as he simply vanished without a trace in a blink of an eye.

"God damn it, Yang! You scared off my new friend!" She yelled out in frustration.

During her time at Signal Academy, Ruby really didn't have any friends as everybody was focused on her older half-sister. She had hoped to develop a few friendships with Yang out of the way, but the entire incident in stopping a notorious criminal from robbing a dust store had ruined that chance.

"You shouldn't be a friend with an unrepentant murderer like him anyways." Yang nonchalantly retorted as she shrugged her shoulders.

To a person like Yang, the people of Hoshido were a bunch of ungrateful savages that rejected the benefits that Remnant's civilization had to offer. They didn't have to deal with Grimm like the rest of the world until the second year of the war had greatly tinted her opinion of them. The fact that Uncle Qrow had nearly been killed by one in battle had added to her hatred towards them.

"Besides, there are plenty of other people than him that you can turn into make friends." The blonde-haired bombshell commented.

As the two girls started arguing over Ruby's right to make friends with people that Yang didn't like for some reason, a young woman with scarlet-red hair and emerald-green eyes was walking away from the area with a deep frown on her beautiful face. Her name was Pyrrha Nikos and she was the legendary four-time champion of the Mistral regional tournament. For some reason, she felt a very deep sense of familiarity towards the masked ninja with blonde-hair.

" _Is he related to a survivor of the Uzumaki clan that managed to escape from the destruction of Uzushiogakure like me?"_ The Amazonian thought as she left the area to track the ninja down.

When the war between Hoshido and the four kingdoms of Remnant had broken out, she had been supportive of the coalition. That changed after a very intense argument with her mother about going to a show and speaking to the troops. In the hour-long argument between mother and child, Skarlet Nikos accidentally mentioned that she was born on an island that was located a few miles away from the coast of Hoshido. From that day onwards, Pyrrha had shifted to a more neutral stance about the war.

"I need to learn his name and if he had a parent from the Uzumaki clan." Pyrrha muttered as she headed towards the auditorium to hear Ozpin's welcome speech.

If the ninja was indeed a member of her mother's family, then she would implement the plans about restoring the clan of whirlpools to its former glory that were stored away in the back of her mind.

* * *

 **Okay, a new chapter that has the plot deepening. So I decided to make Pyrrha into a member of the Uzumaki Clan. Because let's face it, she seems to share the same type of red-hair that all of the women in the Uzumaki clan seem to have. So I figured why the hell not? Also I want to point out that Skarlet Nikos is an Original Character that I created for this story. The next entry for this story will be a character sheet that will focus on Naruto. So expect that to be up in a few days.**

 **Finally, I'm looking for somebody to write a "Team RWBY and Team JNPR reads story". So if you want to do it, then please send me a Private Message and We'll discuss it. With that being said, please leave a review and until next time. Hoorah to Ashes!**


	6. Character Sheet

**Character Bio**

* * *

 **Name: Naruto Uzumaki**

 **Known Aliases: Fox, The blonde-haired devil**

 **Date of Birth: October 10th**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Species: Human (Jinchūriki)**

 **Height: 180 centimeters (5'11")**

 **Weight: 50.9 Kilograms (112 Pounds)**

 **Blood Type: B**

 **Kekkei Genkai: Uzumaki Longevity, Regeneration (?)**

 **Clan: Uzumaki**

 **Affiliation: Konohagakure (Formerly), Mount** **Myōboku** **(Formerly), Hoshido's Hidden Ninja Village (Current)**

 **Ninja Rank: Jōnin (Ex-Anbu)**

 **Ninja Registration Number:** **012607**

 **Academy Graduation Age: 12**

 **Family-**

 **Father: Minato Namikaze (Deceased)**

 **Mother: Kushina Uzumaki (Deceased)**

 **Godparent: Jiraiya (Estranged)**

 **Nature Type: Wind (Primary Affinity), Water (Secondary Affinity), Lighting (Secondary Affinity)**

 **Mission History-**

 **S-Ranked: 20**

 **A-Ranked: 45**

 **B-Ranked: 100**

 **C-Ranked: 409**

 **D-ranked: 2022**

* * *

 **Okay, here's the overview about Naruto in this story. As you can see, I've changed a lot of things to fit into my story. The reason why I didn't put down a list of Jutsu that Naruto knows is because I'm going to make a tailor-fit arsenal that centers on quick silent-kills and dealing with large troop formations. I will say that Naruto will know the multi-shadow clone jutsu and the Rasengan. But he won't have a summoning contract with the toads on the grounds of their connection to Jiraiya.**


	7. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Horrible Scars of the Past**

* * *

For once in her life, Yang Xiao Long was dealing with a major conflict of interest that centered on Ruby's apparent friendship with a ninja from Hoshido. On one hand, she wanted to tell her younger half-sister about the misery and suffering that the people of Hoshido had inflicted on former classmates by refusing to conform to Remnant's way of life in the hopes of ending the friendship. But at the same time, the only child of Raven Branwen wanted to protect Ruby from the ugly truth of the world as long as possible. Either way, she was going to feel like absolute shit afterwards.

" _Damn it, why does it feel like I'm a parent that's about give the talk about the birds and the bees to their child going through puberty?_ She mentally questioned to herself.

In the end, the buxom blonde's hatred towards everything connected to Hoshido had won out over her desire to shelter Ruby from the world. She decided to bring up a certain past incident that the scythe-user had repeatedly pestered her and their father about in the past.

"Ruby, do you remember about a year ago when me and dad left Signal for a few hours?" Yang cautiously asked as she unsuccessfully tried to repress a fearful shiver.

Ruby blinked in surprise at the sudden question that was being asked of her by Yang.

"Of course, I remember as you never told me about the reason why you had to leave in such a hurry." She answered in a slightly offended tone.

Despite what Yang and their father thought, she had been semi-aware of the conflict between Hoshido and Remnant as the weapon industry had been cracking out weapons for the war. While the larger weapons were impractical for a single-wielder to use, they did offer new ideas to her on how help to increase the lethality of Crescent Rose.

"Well, dad received word that Uncle Qrow had been injured in battle against a couple of Hoshido warriors and we went to the local military office to get more information." Yang explained as she hoped that Ruby's love for her adopted Uncle would be enough to convince her that Hoshido was evil.

Ruby stared at her older half-sister with widen eyes for a second as her mind tried to process the information that it had just received. Without any warning, the fifteen-year-old slapped Yang across the face with as much strength as she could muster at a moment's notice.

"How dare you!" Ruby whispered as tears started to form in the corner of her eyes.

Yang had a look of absolute shock and surprise as a red handprint started forming on her right face cheek. However, she was completely numb to the stinging pain as the look of betrayal on Ruby's face was something far worse than anything that could be done to her.

"Ruby, we were only trying…" Yang tried to explain her actions.

Only to be cut off by a very irate Ruby.

"You were trying to do what?! Conceal the fact that Uncle Qrow was possibly dying from fighting in a foreign land that just wanted to be left alone?" The Scythe-user angrily questioned.

Yang said nothing as she recalled the countless classmates and teachers that had broken down crying after learning that a family member had been killed in the war against Hoshido. The buxom blonde had been so wrapped up in concealing Uncle Qrow's condition from Ruby that she failed to consider what her sister's reaction would be to the deception.

"Yang, you and dad had no right to conceal the fact from me that Uncle Qrow could have died. What would you have done if he had actually died?" Ruby demanded from Yang in a tone of maturity that didn't seem to suit her in anyway.

Again, Yang didn't answer as the idea that uncle Qrow could've died at the hands of a samurai or ninja was too terrible for her to contemplate. However, she was reluctant to admit that Ruby had raised a valid argument against her actions.

"You and dad need to stop treating me like a fragile doll that's on display and start acting like I'm a huntress-in-training." Ruby lectured before walking into the auditorium.

Yang stood rooted to the ground as the Ruby's words hit her like a giant tsunami crashing into a coastline. The war had changed the cultural landscape of Remnant and everybody was struggling to adapt to the challenges that this brave new world was presenting to them.

* * *

Naruto was leaning against a pillar in the very back of the auditorium with eyes closed and arms folded across his chest. The blonde-haired ninja was trying to avoid being the center of attention as shinobi were supposed to remain in the shadows and be seen. Personally, he was opposed to the idea of sending a ninja to Beacon Academy as hostilities between Hoshido and Remnant could resume at any minute. If that did happen, then he would be stuck behind enemy lines and killed before he knew it.

"Hey, look over there! It's ones of those freaks from Hoshido." A person whispered to one of their friends in a low tone that Naruto could barely hear.

The only visible sign that he had heard the insult was a slight clenching of his hands for a fraction of a millisecond. Unpleasant memories of his childhood in Konohagakure had briefly flashed inside of the Jinchūriki's mind as the civilian villagers had always referred to him as a freak. Of course, he had always blamed their ignorance of fūinjutsu and the Sandaime for blabbing about his status as the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yoko.

"Cardin, I don't think it's a very good idea to throw around insults with him being nearby." The first person's friend admonished with a quiver of fear in their voice.

Apparently, some of the people in Remnant had heard about the brutal methods of torture that ninja had used gain information during the war. While idealists would argue that torturing people in order to gain information was morally wrong, they failed to realize that it often provided vital intelligence that saved hundreds of lives.

"Relax, Dove. He can't touch any of us without causing a diplomatic incident between Remnant and Hoshido." Cardin explained with an arrogant smirk plastered onto his face.

Naruto snap opened his eyes to reveal blood-red orbs that showed the level of his frustrations at being reminded about the limitations of his mission. Ozpin had placed a great amount of emphasis about his role as the unofficial ambassador to Vale. The moment that somebody disappears from school grounds, he would automatically become the prime suspect.

" _Perhaps, I could arrange for those two idiots to bump into a pack of Grimm during a training exercise. That way, I can't be blamed for their deaths in any way."_ He thought as he took deep breathes to calm down to prevent any incidents.

Almost like she was sensing his negative thoughts, Glynda Goodwitch walked onto the stage with a scroll in hand. The appearance of crow's feet in the corner of her eyes and a few grey hairs was further evidence that the video of her on the airship was a prerecording that predated the war. The entire room went quiet as she gave a very brief introduction about the purpose of Beacon Academy or something; he wasn't really paying attention at the moment as he really didn't care to listen to her.

"High-strung and a stickler for the rulers, it's amazing that somebody had allowed her to become a teacher in the first place." Naruto mused as Glynda passed the podium off to Ozpin.

In a blink of an eye, the blonde-haired Jinchūriki stopped leaning on the pillar and started paying attention to the headmaster. During the trip to port city of Satsuma, the two of them had conversations on various things such as local fauna and famous paintings. Naruto quickly learned that Ozpin was genuinely-interested in establishing a lasting peace between Hoshido and the rest of Remnant.

"I'll... keep this brief. All of you have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You incorrectly assume that knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step into a brave new world." The grey-haired man spoke in a calm and collected manner.

The student-hopefuls started whispering among themselves as the legendary headmaster of Beacon Academy had just insulted them. None of them had taken notice of the fact that Ozpin was leaving the stage and Glynda had reassumed control over the Microphone until she started speaking again.

"All of you will gather in the ballroom and spend the night there. Your initiation begins at seven-thirty in the morning. Be ready. You are dismissed." She bluntly explained before dismissing them and leaving the stage to meet up with her superior.

* * *

 **Elsewhere in Vale**

* * *

If somebody had told Cinder Fall that a rogue ninja would approach her with a business offer, she would've laughed before burning them to a crisp. However, she was currently speechless as a man from Hoshido had just made that offer to her. Off to the side, both Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai were equally speechless as they had heard the proposal as well. Even the quick-witted Roman Torchwick wasn't able to comprehend the offer that had just been made to her.

"Do you care to repeat what you had just said?" Cinder was able to ask the man after a minute had passed.

The man in question was wearing a ragged version of the traditional clothing that was worn by monks from the Kingdom of Hoshido. However, the man was the complete opposite of monks that were shown in pictures and film that had been taken during the war. For starters, he was one-hundred-ninety-two centimeters tall with muscles that were larger than a human's head. Another odd feature about him was the black circles around his eyes that made it look like he was suffering from a severe case of sleep-deprivation.

"I said that I wish to join your group of revolutionaries in order to deal a crippling blow against the four kingdoms that are tainted with corruption and sin." The man calmly answered.

Cinder nodded her head in understanding at what the monk was saying as she had personally seen the way that the Remnant Coalition Forces had conducted themselves. Off-duty soldiers would often go on drinking binges and start harassing any women that they came across. Such actions didn't win any form of endearment from a person of the cloth.

"So what did Remnant managed to do in order to get you to search for a band of ragtag terrorists?" Roman asked in his usual snarky manner.

The man simply turned his head and shot a nasty glare at the professional criminal that dared to ask for his reasons. The look was enough to get Roman to flinch in fear and turn his head to the side in order to avoid looking at the monk's hateful glare. It was obvious that the monk didn't hold the thief in very high-regard.

"If you must know, I seek to avenge the needless deaths of several young children that had been under my temple's care during the war." The monk bluntly responded.

Everybody's eyes widen at the revelation that the monk wanted to join them for the sake of revenge. While Mercury and Emerald didn't show it, they were sympathetic to the man's cause as untrained children were the one thing that neither of them would harm. There was no challenge in fighting people that were incapable of defending themselves. If they were fighting against children that were training to become hunters and huntresses then that was a completely different story.

"So you wish to punish the crimes that the soldiers of Remnant had committed during the war?" Cinder rhetorically asked.

Despite the propaganda that said otherwise, the war between Remnant and Hoshido hadn't been supported by a large majority of people. If anything, the conflict had been supported by a vocal minority that wanted to make a profit by prolonging the war.

"Yes…" the man succinctly answered.

Like many of his former colleagues, he had been forced to learn the primary language of Remnant in order to provide spiritual guidance to the gaijin. Some of monks saw it as a perfect opportunity to gain new Buddhist converts and went out of their way to accommodate the outsiders. However, he saw it as a ruthless attempt by Remnant to destroy the traditional culture and way of life.

"Very well, I will let you be a part of our group on a trial basis to see if you are good enough to permanently join us." Cinder spoke with a tone of finality that quashed in form of dissent in her subordinates.

While she didn't know much about chakra that the people of Hoshido wielded, a warrior trained in fighting techniques that used the foreign energy was too good for her to pass up. Besides, it was always nice to have more expendable pawns in your corner.

* * *

 **Okay, a new chapter for you guys to enjoy. The man that was seen dealing with Cinder at the end was an original character that I created with a back-story that's based off of Yūkyūzan Anji from the Rurouni Kenshin. I always wanted to expand Cinder's faction with a few characters. Now, I want to point out to everybody that a form of the Akatsuki is still active in the story. With most of the Jinchūriki dead and a new obstacle in the way of its goal, they have to create new plans.**

* * *

 **Now then, here is a short sneak preview of a chapter in development:**

 _Blake openly stared in utter shock as a little girl came running up to Adam and offered a small flower in hand with a happy smile on her face. To her amazement, Adam knelt down and accepted the flower that had been offered to him by a human with a small smile of his own. A few seconds later, the little girl was skipping back to her waiting parents without a care in the world. That brief encounter between a human child and her mentor was enough to give the feline faunas hope for a better future._

* * *

 **On a side note, I have a couple of stories in mind that I think that you'll enjoy. The first story is a Naruto/ High School DxD crossover that is centered on Naruto trying to restore his devil clan's status. The story will have influences and characters from multiple franchises. The second story is a sailor Moon/ Naruto crossover that is along the lines of** **Azure King and Azure Queen** **'s** _ **The Moon's Masked Knights**_ **. However, it would be either influenced by the power rangers or I'll create a new backdrop from scratch that has Naruto as the main villain with a vast army of ninja under his command.**

 **With that being said, please leave a review.**


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:** **Trying to** **Bring Order to a Chaotic Situation**

* * *

Ozpin observed the facial expressions of his staff as they filed into the conference room for a last-minute meeting about the Academy's curriculum. The new species of Grimm appearing in Hoshido and the three centuries that the continent had spent in isolation required the material that was currently being taught to be rewritten. He wouldn't have to worry about Oobleck as the caffeine-driven doctor had some knowledge of the history of the fledgling fifth kingdom. The man was extremely flexible in that kind of way.

It was Professor Port that was making the headmaster worried as the elderly huntsman would often be wrapped up in his old stories to notice the change in the air. Ozpin understood that Peter was trying to convey methods of dispatching Grimm in a safe manner. However, the ax-wielding man failed to realize that the students were falling asleep in his class.

"Care to explain why you called a meeting at a time like this, Ozpin?" Glynda questioned in a somewhat demanding tone.

Like any skilled and successful hunter, she had been reading up on the latest information to come out about Grimm. While she wasn't on active duty as being a teacher was a full-time job, it paid to stay informed about the latest developments in case of emergencies.

"I'm glad you asked, Glynda. Today, I received a package from Hoshido containing information about the new species of Grimm that appeared during the war. They also provided a book that contained a rough overview about the civilization's history. While the action was very noble as it'll help ease the tension between the five kingdoms, we have a slight problem with the information that they provided to us." Ozpin calmly explained to the staff.

The Beacon Academy's staff was briefly puzzled by the situation until Oobleck figured out the problem.

"The information that they sent over to us is written in Kanji isn't it." The doctor of history commented as his left eyebrow began to twitch as memories of the long nights spent trying to decipher Hoshido's language began surfacing in his mind.

He became real familiar with Professor Peach and the nurse's office during that time and he didn't want to repeat the process again. Speaking of Professor Peach, the woman looked ready to pull her hair out at the roots as she figured that Ozpin was going to assign Oobleck to deciphering the information.

"That is the case." Ozpin confirmed as he took a sip from his teacup.

While he had faith in Bartholomew's abilities to translate documents, the man simply didn't have enough time to do it. The word data bank and Hoshidan collaborators would shorten the amount of time needed to translate everything, it would take months to accomplish the task. However, the silver-haired headmaster had a very simple and practical solution to the problem that would let his staff keep their sanity.

"Fortunately, we have a native-speaker of Hoshidan attending our academy that might be willing to lend a hand." Glynda commented with a bit of venom in her voice before Ozpin could explain the situation.

She still didn't like the fact that a citizen from the fifth kingdom was being allowed to attend Beacon Academy without having to earn it. The fact that the person was a ninja didn't help in the matter as Glynda lost a few relatives to a rouge shinobi. However, she couldn't do anything about it as the Vale Council had approved of Ozpin's plan as many people within the kingdom wanted a lasting peace.

"Is this true?" Port asked as he spoke up for the first-time.

The portly man had heard awe-inspiring stories about shinobi from some of his old friends that were working in Hoshido during the war. They were a pack of bogymen that haunted the night and brought a great amount of suffering upon their enemies.

Ozpin silently nodded in confirmation as he shot a harsh glare at Glynda for acting out of turn.

"So what, we're going to ask a young collaborator to help us translate documents from a country that they betrayed?" Professor Peach sarcastically asked.

Following the peace treaty, thousands of collaborators from Hoshido had fled to the four kingdoms to avoid retribution from their countrymen. Most had immigrated to Atlas in the belief that the military superpower would offer a greater amount of protection. The rest scattered with the wind to the four corners of the world in the hopes of not being found.

"The student isn't a collaborator by any means. He was sent here in order to help restart relations between Remnant and Hoshido that were destroyed by the Aqua Incident." Ozpin stated with an unsaid message that everybody immediately picked up.

The young man was to be considered a diplomat outside of the classroom and was expected to be treated as such. The fact that the headmaster had used the incident that sparked the five-year war to stress the point that was being made to them. Regardless of their feelings on the matter, they would agree that it was going to be a very interesting school year.

* * *

Emperor Matsunoshin Gōda silently sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose after hearing the latest group of demands from the court nobility. The ruler of Hoshido was deeply-annoyed by the nobility's constant selfishness as it contradicted the Confucian philosophy that the government was centered around. Unlike other daimyō, he had been raised in the ways of Bushidō from an early age and tried to conduct himself like a proper samurai would do.

"Your highness, it is necessary to appoint new daimyō to rule over the domains in your name and keep the filthy peasants in check." One of the more effeminate nobles spoke in a nasally voice.

Matsunoshin angrily clenched his hands into fists at hearing such a degrading comment towards his subjects. It was his personal belief that happy subjects were important in creating an atmosphere of peace and prosperity within the kingdom. However, the nobility had forgotten that it was the common people providing the basic necessities to everybody.

"I will not be appointing new daimyō to rule over vast territories as it isn't practical or economically beneficial to the kingdom." He spoke in a firm tone that left no room for dissent.

This declaration was met with enough furious uproar from the court nobility to cause the Emperor's bodyguards to instinctively reach for their swords. Unlike the obese nobility, every member of the royal guard was extremely muscular and well-trained in the art of killing.

"My lord, how will you govern the kingdom without our help?" One of the braver nobles arrogantly demanded.

Like many of the court nobility, he viewed the emperor as nothing more than a mere political figurehead. Learning about the fact that he wasn't going to appoint new daimyō to replace the ones that had died was surprising and infuriating. Unfortunately, they really couldn't do anything as a majority of the samurai and ninja had sworn a personal oath of fealty to the imperial family. The remaining was considered to be untrustworthy as they were rōnin and would easily betray them in a heartbeat to make a quick ryō.

The various domains will be abolished and restructured into two-hundred-and-sixty-two prefectures that will be governed by elected officials." Gōda explained in a matter that was similar to talking about the weather.

If the nobility hadn't been in a self-righteous uproar from learning that the emperor wasn't appointing new daimyō, then they definitely were now. However, the emperor wasn't going to allow them a chance to criticize his decision and made a gesture to his guards to remove the nobles from the room. The captain of the guard nodded his head and began to carry out the task with great efficiency. Within several minutes, the throne room was completely empty with the exception of the emperor and his bodyguards.

" _Why couldn't the arrogant nobles die in Remnant Coalition's bombing campaign and the honorable one be allowed to live?"_ The emperor mentally asked in anguish.

Many of the surviving nobility had been stubbornly resisting his decisions in every possible way that didn't cross the line of treason. Every time that he proposed something that would benefit the Kingdom, they would attack it with the ferocity belonging to a pack of starving wolves. While he did have support from the few remaining daimyō and the military, it might not be enough to deter them from taking drastic measures.

"My lord, a report has come from the hidden village about the ninja that was sent to Beacon Academy." The captain of the royal guard spoke in a humble tone.

Matsunoshin's head shot up at the announcement as the action had required his personal seal before it had been carried out. So he had been one of the very first to speak with Ozpin about improving the relations between Hoshido and Remnant. Of course, the private meeting had involved the exchange of certain information that couldn't be written down for safety reasons.

"Very well, please hand over the report to me." The emperor spoke in a very quiet tone.

In truth, he felt remorseful about sending the last male member of the Uzumaki clan into hostile territory without any form of backup. However, Naruto was considered one of the most influential people in Hoshido as he had inspired countless people with his words and actions. In many ways, he was acting like a true leader should conduct themselves.

As you wish, my lord." The samurai spoke as he handed the documents over to his liege.

The emperor raised a neatly-trimmed eyebrow at the report as it indicated that the kingdoms had taken a great interest in the situation. It was time to start his plan's second phase of establishing a permanent peace between Hoshido and the rest of Remnant.

* * *

General Ironwood was deeply-concerned about the idea of allowing a weapon of mass destruction to freely walk around Remnant without any safety measures in place. He knew that Ozpin was trying to improve relations with Hoshido, but the man wasn't willing to understand the politics involved in the matter. The road to peace was a two-way street as both sides needed to be willing participants in the process.

" _I really wished that he had consulted with us on the matter before trying anything."_ James thought as he looked over a file about a low-ranking soldier that had been accused of participating in a massacre of defeated resistance fighters.

The young man's story about the incident was strange as it greatly contradicted the version of events that the platoon leader had given. In a normal case, he wouldn't be overly concern about the differences in the stories as the guilty would always fabricate things to avoid justice. However, the private's account of the incident had a couple of things that the rest of platoon was lacking. Those few details were more than enough for him to doubt the accepted story.

"Winter, can you retrieve platoon nine-oh-three's mission aftermath report and the report from the aircrew that was assigned to them in operation blue steel." He calmly requested from his second-in-command that was working on a separate case.

The woman got up and left the large office that housed the twenty-five people that working on sorting out this mess. While the detachment had started out with seven-hundred people, the Atlesian council wanted to ignore the actions of its military and downsized the investigation committee. To them, the investigation would bring a lot of bad publicity to the current council's rule and jeopardize its chances of being reelected.

" _If my hunch is correct about the files, then Jaune Arc was framed for a crime that he didn't commit."_ The general muttered as he waited for his subordinate to return with the request documents.

If there was one thing in the world that disgusted Ironwood to no end, it was people that refused to take responsibility for their actions. During his rise up the military ranks, James had always accepted any sort of failures that had occurred in his command.

"Sir, I have the reports that you requested. May I ask why you wanted these files?" Winter asked with some confusion as she returned to the office.

Ironwood took file that contained the aircrew's report and opened it up before scanning it for anything that matched private Arc's report. Almost immediately, he saw several things that contradicted the report that the commanding officer of platoon nine-oh-three had submitted. However, it wasn't enough to put the remaining members of the unit on trial. Unless…..

"Winter, didn't you say that your sister will start attending Beacon Academy in a few days?" He asked out of the blue.

Colonel Schnee looked puzzled by the sudden question as it didn't have anything to do with the files that her superior had requested.

"Sir, I don't see how my sister attending Beacon academy is related to the case file in front of you." She respectfully answered.

General Ironwood sighed at the Specialist's inability to correlate the case and her sister's attendance to the school that was hosting a representative of Hoshido. If they could get any reports that detailed the aftermath of the massacre, then they could create a case against the remaining members of platoon nine-oh-three.

"Winter, Ozpin had invited a shinobi to attend Beacon Academy in order to improve relations between Hoshido and the kingdom of Vale. If we send someone to beacon and ask for a copy of the report on the massacre in the village of Zhejiang, a group of criminals could be brought to justice." James explained to the white-haired woman.

Winter blinked in surprise at the revelation that Ozpin was going behind the backs of Vale's Council members, it was completely out of character for the headmaster. Then again, Vale's Council was regarded as the most corrupt of the four councils in Remnant. It shouldn't have been surprising to her that the headmaster was acting on his own accord to restore peace.

"I'm willing to lead a small unit to Beacon under the pretense of checking up on my sister and speak to the ninja about getting the information, sir." She offered to her superior officer.

Winter hated herself for offering to use Weiss in such a way, but it was the only way that the Atlesian military could restore its honor. With the exception of a select few, nobody would be able to see through the ruse as it would be seen as a concerned older sister visiting a sibling. The fact that somebody of her rank was required by law to have a military unit to escort them wouldn't raise any suspicions.

"I will allow this for the time being, but be prepared for a semi-permanent stationing at Beacon. Hoshido hasn't been connected to the Cross Continental Transmit System yet as their busy trying to catch up with the rest of the world in technology." Ironwood calmly explained to the female Colonel.

None of the four kingdoms were willing to help Hoshido in modernizing as they didn't want develop more competition on the international market. At the same time, the majority of people from Hoshido were distrustful of outsiders with notable exception of faunas. With faunas, it was a bizarre case of the shinobi being extremely distrustful towards them on the account of white fang's actions.

"I understand, sir." Winter Spoke as she snapped a quick salute before leaving to organize the things that she would be bring with her.

James sighed as felt the stress from his job as a general and headmaster of Atlas Academy was starting to get to him with each passing month. The idea of retiring from the military and becoming the headmaster of the Academy was looking more promising with each passing day. However, he refused to retire from the military until a worthy-replacement could be found.

* * *

 **Okay, a filler chapter to keep up guys occupied until the next chapter is published. As you can see, the faculty of Beacon isn't unified like in cannon as Glynda is resentful over the death of her family. At the same time, the emperor is trying to keep the nobility in check until a proper government is formed. In Atlas, Ironwood is trying to bring people that had committed war crimes to justice without much success. Poor Jaune is currently locked up in a prison cell for a crime that he possibly didn't commit.**

* * *

 **Now for a sneak preview of what's to come:**

 _Naruto glared angrily at Orochimaru and Sasuke for showing their faces after the stunts that they pulled during the war. However, he was greatly concerned about the person inside of the coffin that the snake Sennin had successful resurrected. The jinchūriki doubted that his parents or any of friends had been resurrected as Orochimaru didn't work like that. No, the white serpent was a master of physiological warfare and wouldn't target him in such a direct manner._

" _So Miss Rose, I believe that it is time for you to be reacquainted with somebody from your past." Orochimaru spoke in a very sadistic manner that sent shivers up everyone's spines._

 _The lid of the coffin fell to the ground and revealed a woman that was a few inches taller than Ruby. Naruto could hear Ruby and Yang taking a sharp inhale of air at the sight of the woman. It was obvious to everyone in the area that both of them had known the woman. However, what he heard next would surprise and appall him to no end._

" _Mom!?" Ruby whispered in a low-tone._

* * *

 **With that being said, please leave a review. Until Next time, Hoorah to Ashes!**


	9. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Headaches of a Different Kind**

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 **AN: The Author doesn't support or condone the act of racism in any form. He finds the very concept of it to be appalling and hypocritical in most cases.**

* * *

Sitting at a bar counter, Qrow grumbled in open disgust as he overheard a group of idiots talking about organizing themselves into a private army and invading Hoshido. The unofficial leader of the bunch was bragging about the inherent superiority of Remnant's technology and culture. Such a line of thought was disgusting to the alcoholic scythe-user as it caused needless suffering. It had been people like him that had prolonged the war as they had refused to admit defeat to a people that they viewed as culturally inferior.

" _I doubt that they'll last very long in Hoshido as everything will be inching to kill them. If the samurai and ninja don't get them, then the Grimm certainly will_." Qrow mentally mused as he downed a shot of whiskey in a single gulp.

The war had been a life-changing event as he had constantly seen the ugly side of humanity during those years. Both sides had committed atrocities to the other and tried to justify them as necessary actions to break the enemy's will to continue fighting. Remnant Coalition Forces had massacred entire towns and villages filled with unarmed civilians in order to root out a single ninja that was rumored to be in the area. At the same time, the soldiers of Hoshido would force captured Remnant soldier to undergo brutal death marches as they headed towards holding camps in the desert. However, these weren't the most horrific things that he had seen or heard about during the course of the war.

No, that dishonor went to a series of tragic incidents that occurred during the Land of Water Campaign. As Remnant Forces began conquering the islands that made up the domain, the civilians began hearing stories about the cruelty that awaited them at the hands of the foreign invaders. In fear, hundreds of civilians fled towards large bluffs that overlooked the ocean and committed suicide by jumping off of them. Every night, his mind would replay the memory of a mother throwing her newborn child over the edge of a cliff before jumping after it.

"Maybe we can have some fun with the women folk in between battles?" One of the warmongering idiots suggested to his friends.

At hearing the murmurs of agreement at the proposed idea, Qrow lost any restraint that was left in him. He slammed his bottle of Vacuo Ale onto the counter with enough force that the glass bottled shattered into dozens of tiny pieces. Everyone in the tavern turned their attention towards him as he got up and turned towards the group.

"So you think that's a good idea to start another war with Hoshido because of some bullshit belief that Remnant is inherently superior?" He angrily questioned.

Many of the bar patrons knew about him being a war veteran that had served throughout the entirety of the war.

"Of course, we need to fight another war! Those squinty-eyed bastards are worse than the faunas that taint our world with their filthy presence." The leader of the group said with absolute conviction and religious zeal.

While the insane man started ranting about the superiority of human civilization from Remnant, Qrow was looking at the way that the man's clothing was decorated. The man had several medals pinned to the right side of his shirt that implied military service. However, the Scythe-user wasn't fooled by the shiny pieces of tin that were being passed off as medals.

"Judging by the medals on your shirt, I take it that you saw heavy action in the war." He commented without taking his eyes off of the man.

The man gave a sinister and maniacal smile that showed all of his crooked teeth were filled with cavities.

"You're damn right, boy! These medals prove that I'm a proud veteran of the recent war with those fucking heathens of the east." The man said with his chest puffed out to show off the medals.

Qrow's blood was boiling in rage as he recognized that one of the medals was a very cheap imitation of Atlas' highest military honor. While the man may not like Ironwood and the Atlas Military as a whole for numerous reasons, he did respect the common soldier that went beyond the call of duty. To see someone trying to pass themselves as a former soldier that had earned such a prestigious award was something that the Scythe-use couldn't and wouldn't tolerate at any time.

"Really? Because I think that you're nothing more than a complete fraud that's trying to start up a needless conflict!" Qrow boldly accused the man.

All of the patrons in the bar went dead quiet at hearing the accusation that was being laid before the warmonger. Most of them knew that Qrow had fought in the war since the second year of it and some of them had known him from before the war. So they knew that he wouldn't make such accusations without just cause.

"You dare accuse me of being a fraud!" The man angrily yelled out.

The man's merry band of idiotic followers was gathering behind him in a pathetic showing of intimidation and solidarity. It was pretty clear that the man and his warmongering compatriots were looking for a fight and didn't care about the details of it.

* * *

Raven Branwen was heading towards her brother's favorite watering hole on Patch Island as she had urgent business with him involving a certain teammate of theirs. Normally, she wouldn't communicate with anybody in such a direct manner. However, the disappearance of Summer Rose's remains and rumors of human experimentation was enough to break her self-imposed rule.

" _Hopefully, my idiot brother isn't doing anything that'll land him in hot water."_ The dark-haired beauty mentally mused as she got closer to the wooden building.

Within seconds of her thinking that line of thought, the body of a man crashed through a window and landed into a boneless pile at Raven's feet. She nudged the man's side with her foot to see if he was still alive after being beaten to a bloody pulp and tossed out of a window. The downed man let out a pained moan at being lightly kicked in the ribs. Satisfied that her brother wouldn't be going to prison for murder, she stepped over the man and continued towards the building's front door.

"Dear Monty, please tell me that Qrow didn't start a bar fight for some pathetic reason like he was bored." Raven muttered as she opened the door and found her brother fighting a group of idiots from the backwoods.

Surprisingly, Qrow was fighting with nothing more than his bare fists against people that were using knifes. It was painfully obvious to her that the knife-users were nothing more than idiots that had tried to act tough in front of a veteran hunter. Without any hesitation, she carefully waded through the gathered crowd of bar patrons in order to speak with her brother.

"Come on! If you can't land a single blow on my person, then you have no business trying to start a war with Hoshido!" Qrow loudly commented as he threw one of the fighters into a wall.

The one-sided brawl continued for several minutes as her brother fought the group of idiots without putting any effort into it. It ended after the leader of the group dropped his butterfly knife and ran out of the tavern in absolute fear. As the crowd dispersed after the anti-climatic ending, Raven approached her twin brother as he went back to bar counter and ordered another drink.

"Hello, brother." She spoke in a hushed tone.

Qrow's head shot up like a cannonball and turned to the right to see the last person that he wanted to see.

"What do you want?" He coldly demanded as he wasn't in the mood to deal with his sister.

Raven sighed as she knew that it was a deserved response as she and Qrow didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things. The biggest issues centered on her lack of involvement in Yang's life and her very dark opinion of the world.

"Summer's remains have been stolen." She spoke bluntly without any conversation.

Qrow's eyes widened at the news that someone had the open audacity of stealing the body of team STRQ's leader. Despite being under the influence of alcohol, he was already trying to figure out who would want to steal the dead body of a huntress and why. He had to wonder if Taiyang knew about the fact that his second significant other's grave had been robbed.

"Maybe you should explain the situation." He commented in a serious tone.

For the next hour, Raven told her brother everything that she knew about the situation. With each new piece of information, Qrow's face grew redder with anger as his mind tried to draw up a list of suspects that were capable of committing such a barbaric crime.

* * *

 _A fourteen-year-old Blake was marching behind Adam Taurus as they headed towards a small fishing village called Edo to protect it from roving bands of bandits. While many of the younger members were upset that they weren't being allowed to fight the forces of Remnant, the older and wiser members of the group saw it as a test of honor. In a heavily military-dominated society like Hoshido, a person's action spoke much louder than any words could._

" _Hey Adam, what's so important about this village?" She asked in the hopes of learning about their reasons for being there._

 _Unlike her compatriots, she had a basic grasp of Hoshido language that allowed for very limited communication. So they were bringing her along to act as a translator to avoid causing unnecessary problems between them and the villagers._

" _From what I was able to figure out, Edo is a transportation hub that's connected to eight different supply routes. So it makes perfect sense for them to protect it from any bandits that want to prey upon convoys loaded with supplies that heading towards the front." Adam explained to his young partner._

 _The bull faunas didn't trust any of the humans in Hoshido as the military was viewing them with suspicion. While they had discovered that Hoshido wasn't as primitive like it was originally thought to be as some members had spotted airships that used hydrogen to fly. Heck, there were rumors floating around that Hoshido was developing a single-seat aircraft that would largely be made out of wood, canvas, and metal wire._

" _That makes sense." Blake silently admitted about her mentor's explanation._

 _For the next few hours, the column marched in absolute silence with the occasional sound of artillery being heard faintly in the distance. By the time that they finally arrived at Edo, it was late in the afternoon and the people were getting ready to seek shelter. The village had seen much better days as the charred ruins of buildings littered the area. The fact that the remains were still smoking was a strong indication that they had been burnt down within the last few days._

 _Without any hesitation, Adam marched into the village and started searching for somebody in the village that looked to be influential. Blake quickly went in after him in order to defuse any problems that may arise in the conversation. While Adam was one of White Fang's best fighters and strategists, the young man was about as subtle as a raging bull in a fine china shop._

" _Excuse me, could one of you please direct us to the leader of this village?" She asked in Hoshidan._

 _The frightened people quickly pointed towards an old man that was calmly smoking a pipe on the patio of a sukiya-style building. Blake gave a quick bow and muttered a thank you before running off to stop Adam from -making a mistake. Twenty minutes later, the villagers were welcoming the brigade of faunas with open arms._

" _I can't believe that these people aren't alarmed by our animal features." One of white fang's faceless grunts commented as he shook hands with one of the villagers._

 _Blake had to silently agree with him as most people in Remnant had always looked down upon them with disdain. The people of Hoshido tended to adopt more of a wait and see policy towards them before deciding their opinions on faunas. Some of the older members took the reservation as a good sign and talked about settling down on the continent after the war was over. On the other end of the spectrum, most of the younger generation was resentful of the treatment and viewed it as another form of discrimination._

" _Why can't those blockheads figure out that the people of Hoshido are paranoid towards outsiders? If anything, this war is giving us a chance to earn a lot of goodwill with the Hoshidan people." Blake mentally complained as she observed a little girl that was holding a small flower in her hands._

 _At the very most, the girl couldn't have been more than four years old as her kimono was designed for a small child. Her face was covered in soot from playing in one of the burnt down buildings and her kimono was covered in different colored patches. It was obvious that Edo was a very poor village, despite it being a transportation hub on several minor trade routes. However, the war had created a situation that forced Hoshidan military forces to rely on the minor trade and smuggling routes to keep supplied._

" _Hopefully, their lives will drastically improve with this surge in the local economy."_ _Blake thought as she watched the girl say something to her caregiver with the adult nodding their head in agreement._

 _Blake could only stare in utter shock as the little girl ran up to Adam and offered the small flower that she was holding with a smile on her face. To her further amazement, Adam knelt down and accepted the flower that had been offered to him by a human with a small smile of his own. A few seconds later, the little girl was skipping back to her waiting caretaker without a worry in the world._

 _That brief interaction between a human child and her mentor was enough to give the feline faunas hope for a better future._

 _ **-Dream Over-**_

Blake Belladonna awoke with cold sweat covering her entire body from the haunting memory that had just occurred in her sleep. The feline Faunus looked out one of the many windows that dotted the walls of the ballroom and found that it was the break of day. In another four hours, she would be taking part in a ceremony that would determine her partner during her stay at Beacon for the next four years. With any luck, she wouldn't have to talk about her past that much.

"Why did I have to remember that memory of all things?" Blake muttered in sorrow.

During the war, she had traveled to the eastern-most continent with other members of white fang in order to help the natives defend their homeland. It was there that she learned the basics usage of a Kusarigama and ninjatō sword in battle. The brief time spent in the fledgling kingdom had been the happiest moment in her life as the people of Hoshido hadn't cared about her status as a Faunus. Of course, the samurai and ninja were distrustful of them at first. However, they were eventually able to win over a large majority of them through their actions and deeds.

" _Speaking of which, why is a ninja here at Beacon?"_ She thought as glanced at the ninja that was sitting in the corner of the room.

The ninja was sitting in the lotus position with his eyes closed and hands folded in his lap. It was a very common meditation technique that the sages of Hoshido used to get in touch with Mother Nature. Blake wasn't fooled by the shinobi's peaceful state as she had been told that the meditations allowed a warrior to act without fear of death or emotion. Such a concept was a very alien as the kingdoms of Remnant had always espoused that the values such as emotion and individualism were the keys to survival.

"To act without emotion, the samurai and ninja would make perfect hunters." She reluctantly admitted to herself.

During her service, Blake had heard stories about ninja being able to radically alter the landscape on a mere whim. Such power being able to exist within a single person at any given time was a terrifying prospect for anyone to comprehend. After fighting alongside samurai and shinobi, she wouldn't be surprised at learning that the stories were true.

" _Perhaps, it was better for that the war happened as such people pose a threat to everybody's safety."_ Blake mentally contemplated as she noticed that the ninja was starting to stir from his meditation.

The ninja's eyelids lifted to reveal a pair of startling sapphire-blue eyes that seem to glitter in the morning light. It is often said by many religious philosophers that the human eyes were the windows that lead directly to the soul. In this case, they were absolutely right. She could see the absolute loneliness and sorrow that were concealed behind the ninja's sparkling eyes. No doubt, he had lost a lot of friends and family members on the account of the war.

For a few second, the ninja's eyes made contact with hers and they stared at each other. She quickly turned her head away in shame of being formerly associated with the group that had murdered the genetic link between humans and faunas. At one point in time, she had been proud to being called a faunas and show off the cat ears on top of her head. However, the senseless violence of radical faunas supremacists made her ashamed of her heritage.

" _The White Fang is no more, there's only Black Fang and Red Fang."_ Blake sadly thought.

Before she could contemplate any further, somebody's hand started groping her butt like a drunken lover. The former member of white fang had to resist the urge to moan in pleasure as a fine powder of pink began to appear on her cheeks. However, Blake had enough willpower to turn around and smack the offending appendage away from her body. The owner of the appendage was a sleeping girl with long and messy blonde-hair.

"Hmm… that's a firm booty made for shaking." The girl said with a shit-eating grin on her face.

Blake had to violently resist the urge to claw the sleeping girl's face for unknowingly molesting her. She started praying to the great Monty in the sky that she would not end up as the girl's partner in the foreseeable future.

* * *

Lie Ren reluctantly opened his magenta-colored eyes to find Nora Valkyrie standing over him with a small smile on her face.

"Wake up, lazy bud!" Nora said as she dashed to the side.

Lie Ren let out a miserable groan as he got up while Nora started to hound him with incessant chanter.

"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" The bubbly red-head sang with absolute glee.

Lie Ren could feel a massive headache coming as he started walking towards the bathroom to brush his teeth. While Nora was his best friend, she didn't know the meaning of restraint and lacked common sense to realize a person's disinterest in a conversation.

"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm... well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?" Nora commented with the enthusiasm.

Lie Ren let out another sigh as he brushed his teeth in the restroom while Nora continued to talk. Five minutes later, the two of them were back in the ballroom and trying to ready themselves for the initiation. Nora was brushing her hair and still chattering away, while Ren was tightening the strings on his sleeping bag to make it more compact.

"We've been friends for soooooooo long! What are the odds that we'd still be together? Well, not "together-together..." Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?" Nora tried to explain their complicated friendship.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were sitting at a table in the cafeteria with a large stack of pancakes in front of them. Nora was still talking to her best friend, despite having a large piece of pancake in her mouth.

"Right! What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together! She said in a muffled voice.

She quickly slurped up the rest of her pancake and continued talking like nothing had happened.

"Oohhhh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work. He has the school." Nora commented as she tried to figure out a plan that would allow them to pair up.

After finishing breakfast and downing a couple of aspirin for his growing headache, Ren was heading towards the lockers to pick up the automatic pistols that were stored in his assigned locker. By the time that he got to his locker, Nora was talking about possible ways of working together.

"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal! A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?" She asked out of the blue.

Seeing the opportunity to get a few seconds of quiet, Ren decided to speak as he loaded StormFlower.

"Nora?" He calmly asked.

Nora stopped her train of thought and turned to her best friend.

"Yes, Ren?" Nora answered.

Ren silently sheathed his weapons inside of his sleeves.

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." He pointed out to her.

Nora paused for a moment to think about this new piece of information for a moment.

"That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!" She loudly exclaimed.

Ren smiled as he closed his locker. Nora was always the optimist between the two of them and didn't allow things such as minor details to get in her way.

"Come on Nora, let's go" he commented as he started to leave towards the bluff that overlooked emerald forest.

As Ren headed out, Nora was following him in a skip motion.

* * *

 **Okay, a new chapter for everyone to enjoy. Let's try to reach the two-hundred review mark and hope that it'll be enough for somebody to do a RWBY read's version of this story. Now then, the next chapter will be the initiation and pairing up. For Naruto, he's going to be paired up with Pyrrha and that's final. I'm well-aware that I placed a preview of Ruby fighting her mother in the previous chapter and this led to some confusion. However, I would like to point out that it won't happen until tournament arc.**

* * *

 **Now then, a sneak preview for what's going to happen in the next chapter:**

 _Naruto and Pyrrha are standing at the mouth of a dark cave. At the mouth of the cavern, dozens of primitive drawings involving armed men against a giant scorpion-like beast could be seen. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he sensed a lot of negative emotions coming from within._

" _Think this is it?" Pyrrha asked her mysterious partner._

 _As she prepared to walk into the cave, Naruto quickly grabbed the upper part of her left arm._

" _I don't think that this is the temple that Ozpin mentioned. A lot of negative emotion is coming from something inside of the cave and I don't that it's friendly to humans." He commented in a firm manner that showed how serious that he was being._

 _Pyrrha didn't question the ability to sense emotions as her mother had told her about certain members of the clan being able to sense negative emotions. The most famous being a woman by the name of Mito Uzumaki from the warring states period. It could be seen as a very useful ability for a hunter or huntresses to have as Grimm were filled with negative emotions._

" _So what do we do, Fox?" She asked as her partner let go of her arm._

 _Naruto said nothing as he pulled out a strange pair of goggles with three green-lenses from his utility belt. The goggles had been created in secret by the shinobi village's research and development division to allow shinobi to have artificially-enhanced night vision._

" _I'm going to send a shadow clone into the cave to do some reconnaissance, if it finds anything it'll let me know by dispelling." He calmly commented._

 _Pyrrha could only watch as her partner placed the goggles on his head and began adjusting a few straps to make them more comfortable to wear._

* * *

 **Please leave a review.**


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: The Initiation Ceremony**

* * *

Naruto calmly stared at the vast sea of green trees that comprised the Emerald forest as he waited for Ozpin to speak. In many ways, the forest reminded him of the forest that had surrounded Konoha before the village was bombed into oblivion by Atlesian airships. However, he could sense the negative emotions that were being broadcasted by the Grimm living within the forest. So a comparison with the forest of death was probably a more appropriate comparison to make. Either way, he wasn't intimidated by the prospect of being sent into the area to complete an objective.

"For years, all of you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin calmly stated to the gathered group of twelve would-be students.

Naruto had to repress the urge to roll his eyes as he didn't view the people around him as warriors. With a notable exception of a select few, most of them hadn't experienced any form of physical combat that weren't outside of a friendly sparing match.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Glynda spoke up as she sent a glare at the Hoshidan that was invited to attend Beacon.

Naruto simply ignored her and focused on Ozpin as he had received similar glares from bigoted villagers as a child. For some reason, his instincts were saying that the headmaster was a trustworthy person that wouldn't stab him in the back at a moment's notice.

"What? Ohhh..." He heard Ruby say like she had just noticed that the headmaster was speaking.

To be fair, she did have a lot of things on her mind since her little spat with Yang.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin continued explaining without caring about the teenagers' reactions.

Ruby let out a small moan of nervousness.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." The headmaster stated as he silently observed Naruto with a tactical eye.

Despite spending a week with the ninja on a journey through a forest filled with dangerous illusions and on a merchant ship, he really didn't know that much. So any chance that he had to observe the young man was taken at the drop of a hat. For example, he had easily noticed that Naruto had added a dark grey utility belt to his regular outfit.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin finished before talking a sip of tea from the coffee mug that he was holding.

Naruto could see the shocked expression on Ruby's face as he could imagine in his head that her world had shattered like glass.

"See? I told you-!" The Jinchūriki heard someone say.

Honestly, he didn't really care about the news that he'll be partnered up with somebody for the next four years. The person that was unfortunate enough to partner up with him was probably going to be very bigoted towards people from Hoshido.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way, so do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you **will** die." Ozpin warned.

Naruto smiled as he recalled a similar warning that Kakashi had given to team seven for the bell test. Those were simpler times as one didn't have to worry about Grimm trying to kill you for being human or foreign invaders trying to kill you for political reasons.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin stated before sarcastically asking if anybody had questions.

Nobody raised their hands.

"Good! Now, take your positions." He instructed.

Everyone struck a pose on their tile. Nora was crouching low, Ren wielded his weapons, Yang raised her fists, Ruby readied her body for the sudden g-force, and Naruto was quickly strapping black armbands around his forearms. Unbeknownst to everyone else, the armbands were connected to the top of his Jika-tabi boots with a special type of ninja wire. Once chakra was channeled into the wire, it would allow the user to glide through the air like a flying squirrel.

One by one, the students were launched into the air with Yang putting on a pair of aviator sunglasses before being launched. By the time that it was Naruto's turn, he was already sending a small amount of chakra into the wire to create the needed energy wings.

"Sayonara!" The Jinchūriki quickly said before being launched.

For his part, Ozpin took a small sip of his drink.

* * *

With her weapon in sword form and shield at the ready, Pyrrha crashed through several trees before rolling on a branch. She immediately shifted her blade into a rifle and started looking through the scope as Naruto glided into the forest. Fearing for her fellow Uzumaki's safety, she coolly transformed her weapon into to its spear form and took a moment to evaluate her throw. A second later, the javelin rocketed into the forest until a loud thud was heard.

"SON OF A BITCH!" The blonde-haired ninja screamed out in the distance.

The Amazonian flinched at the reaction that she had received for saving the masked blonde's life.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha yelled out as she waved.

Thirty-five minutes later, the red-headed Amazonian was following a very irate ninja through the forest at a safe distance. When she had reached the location that her Javelin had landed, she had found that it was logged in the ninja's left shoulder and keeping him pinned to a tree. After helping to pull the weapon out of his body and introducing herself, Fox punched her in the face for needlessly injuring him.

" _Way to make a good first impression."_ Pyrrha dejectedly thought to herself.

The red-head wanted to introduce and reveal her half-Uzumaki status in the hopes of getting him to agree with her crazy plan of rebuilding the clan. Instead, she had accidentally stabbed him with Miló and forced him to reveal the fact that he had a healing factor to her and the monitoring beacon staff. A healing factor that wasn't a semblance was a sight to behold as it flew in the face of conventional wisdom.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about stabbing you…." She started to say before Fox made the military hand-signal to stop.

Sure enough, she was able to hear a large pack of Beowolves growling at them as their red-eyes appeared in the bushes that surrounded her and Naruto. The rest of the sentence died in Pyrrha's throat as her Sanctum Academy training instantly kicked in. Sure enough, twenty beowolves came out of bushes and encircled them to prevent escape. This might be a perfect opportunity to impress him with the tactical and fighting skills that she gained from fighting in the Minstrel tournament.

"Perhaps, we should divide and conquer?" She offered in a low-whisper in case of any Alpha-class Beowolf being in the area.

Fox didn't respond as he disappeared in a cloud of leaves, only to be replaced by a series of flashing white lights. A few seconds later, he reappeared on the other side of the beowolves with his sword drawn and the pack of Grimm frozen in place. Without speaking a single word, he twirled the sword before sheathing it back into the scabbard that was on his back. The beowolves collapsed to the ground as soon as the habaki entered the scabbard.

" _Amazing, I didn't even see him draw the sword or attack them."_ Pyrrha thought in absolute awe.

However, the astonishment didn't last long as she realized that he could have gotten her killed with that stunt. The female Uzumaki's eyes narrowed dangerously at her partner's reckless action and she marched up to the unsuspecting male. Without any hesitation, the angry Amazonian clocked the ninja across the back of the head with enough force to send him to the ground.

"YOU FREAKEN IDIOT! ACTING ON YOUR OWN LIKE THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY UNNECESSARY AND PUT BOTH OF US IN NEEDLESS DANGER!" She yelled out in frustration at her downed partner's lone wolf attitude.

Fox turned his head to give a heated glare and give a retort, only to back down as he saw that Pyrrha's eyes were glowing and her hair was flailing angrily in the air. He had enough experience with angry women to known better than to talk back at one. However, he did have a justifiable reason for doing such a thing.

"I apology if my actions have offended you in any way. However, I don't know the capabilities of these Grimm as they are much different from the ones in Hoshido. I felt that it would be safer if we eliminated them as quickly as possible." Fox explained as he got up from the ground.

If she had been in a normal state of mind, Pyrrha would have readily accepted that explanation as it made sense. From what the reports indicated, the Grimm species of Hoshido were in a different league from the ones that existed on the rest of the planet. However, the Uzumaki half of her heritage refused to acknowledge the explanation that been given.

"THAT'S NO EXCUSE! WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOUR LITTLE STUNT DIDN'T WORK?" She scolded her partner.

Fox remained silent as he would admit that the red-head huntress-in-training had made a fair and valid argument. Had he grown so accustom to working alone in the field that the idea of working with somebody had became alien to him? Apparently, that was the case.

"It seems that I have to break my habit and mentality of being a solo agent that I developed during the war." He softly muttered with a bit of sadness.

Pyrrha's glare softened as she remembered that her partner was likely a battle-harden veteran from the recent war. No doubt, he had been forced to develop the lone wolf attitude after watching so many of his comrades died in the defense of their homeland. It was a common trait that many soldiers developed during wartime to avoid becoming emotionally-attached to people that were replacing fallen comrades. Many psychiatrists viewed social disassociation as a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Listen Fox, I understand if you have first-hand experience of the war and lost people that were dear to you. However, you're going to be a part of a team for the next four years and the team won't accept somebody that isn't willing to work with them." She gently lectured to her partner.

Fox thought back to his days at the ninja academy and recalled how Iruka-sensei would constantly lecture about teamwork being the key to Konoha's success. Then, he remembered the bell test that Kakashi had given to team seven required them to work as a team in order to pass. The first two years of the war had brutally reinforced those lessons until the rest of the Konoha eleven started dying off.

"Listen Pyrrha, I will try to work with a team. However, you need to be patient as it'll take some time before I can effectively work with multiple people" He stated as he stared into his new partner's green eyes.

The Amazonian beauty nodded her head in understanding as the old saying about the four kingdoms not being built in a single day came to mind.

"That's all I'm asking, Fox. I'm more than willing to give you time to adjust as long as you're willing to work with me." She spoke between deep breathes.

With common ground established between them, the two Uzumaki wandered into the forest in search of the temple housing the artifacts that Ozpin had told them to retrieve. Despite not encountering any more Grimm, the two of them remained on high alert.

* * *

 **Twenty-five Minutes Later**

* * *

Fox and Pyrrha are standing at the mouth of a dark cave. At the cavern's mouth was dozens of primitive drawings could be seen that depicted armed stick-men fighting a giant scorpion-like beast. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he sensed a lot of negative emotions coming from within.

"Think this is it?" Pyrrha asked her mysterious partner.

As she prepared to walk into the cave, the ninja quickly grabbed the upper part of her left arm.

"I don't think that this is the temple that Ozpin mentioned. I'm sensing a lot of negative emotion from something that's inside of the cave and I don't that it's friendly to humans." He commented in a firm manner that showed how serious that he was being.

Pyrrha didn't question the ability to sense emotions as her mother had told her about certain members of the Uzumaki clan being able to sense negative emotions. The most famous being a woman by the name of Mito that had been alive during the warring states period. It could be seen as a very useful ability to a hunter or huntresses as the Grimm were filled with negative emotions.

"So what do we do?" She asked as her partner let go of her arm.

Fox said nothing as he pulled out a strange pair of goggles that had three green-lenses from his utility belt. The tri-focal goggles had been created in secret by the shinobi village's research and development division to allow shinobi to have artificially-enhanced night vision. The purpose behind their creation was centered-around improving a shinobi's night-time fighting capability

"I'm going to send a shadow clone into the cave to do some reconnaissance, if it finds anything it'll let me know by dispelling." He calmly commented.

Pyrrha could only watch as her partner placed the goggles on his head and began adjusting a few straps to make them more comfortable to wear. Once that was accomplished, he made a cross using both of his middle and index fingers. A large cloud of grey smoke appeared out of nowhere and blanketed the entire area around the entrance of the cave. The four-time minstrel champion started coughing as she waved a hand in front of her face in a feeble attempt to clear the area of smoke.

When the smoke did clear, Pyrrha found that she was completely surrounded by twenty replicas of Fox. The original fox made another hand gesture and most of the replicas got into a semi-circle formation with their faces pointing towards the cave's entrance. The remaining Fox replica grumbled about being sent on a suicide mission as it lowered the strange goggles over its eyes and walked into the dark cave. For a minute, everything was quiet with the exception of birds chirping in the distance.

"Hey, what's the name of the Grimm that looks like a giant scorpion?" One of the Foxes suddenly asked.

Pyrrha gave him a confused look as she pondered over his question. The only species of Grimm that came to mind was the highly-lethal Death Stalkers, but they were generally found in the sandy deserts of Vacuo. So why would one be located in a forest that was three-thousand miles away from the nearest desert?

"I think that we might have accidentally stumbled upon a Death Stalker's nest." She reluctantly answered.

All of the Fox replicas started making a series of strange hand signs in perfect unison.

"Fire Style: Grand Fire Stream!" The group of Foxes shouted with their hands synchronized to stop at a gesture with the fingers interlaced as the index fingers and thumbs pointed upwards.

All of them took a deep breath of air before letting loose a stream of white-hot fire from their mouths. The streams of fire collided with each other at the cave's entrance and turned into a floating river of fire that entered the cave. Before long, the pained screams of a Grimm could be heard bellowing from deep within the cave as it was cooked alive. It didn't take long for the screams to stop as the flames were hot enough to melt the rock in a matter of seconds.

Pyrrha could only stare at her partner in utter amazement at the power that he was showing. She heard stories from disabled veterans about the warriors of Hoshido being able to manipulate the elements without the need of dust, but seeing it in person was something else. The Amazonian couldn't help to be aroused by the sheer display of power.

" _Such power!"_ She weakly thought as the platoon of Foxes started easing up on the torrent of fire.

When the concept of the ninja came to mind, she thought of warriors that used stealth to achieve their objectives. Fox's body language showed that he preferred to remain away from the limelight, but he wasn't one to shy away from a fight.

"I think we need to hurry to our objective before times runs out." Fox said as all of his replicas burst into smoke clouds and disappeared.

The next thing that Pyrrha knew, she was being held in a bridal carry and the wind was whipping through her hair.

* * *

 **Okay, a new chapter. Now I want to tell everyone that I'll be business during the next few months, so expect irregular updates for the next three months. Also the next chapter will have Jaune making a small appearance. Before releasing the next chapter, I'll publish a info page on one of the Grimm from Hoshido. I don't want to give out any spoilers, but the Grimm is a really clever girl.**

 **So until next time, please leave a review.**


	11. Yoshi Data

**Grimm Data Entry**

 **Yoshi**

 **Average Estimated Height: 2 meters (6 feet)**

 **Average Estimated Length: 4 meters (13 feet)**

 **Average Estimated Weight:** **136.078 kilograms (300 pounds)**

 **Average Running Speed: 56.33 Kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour)**

 **Estimated Top Speed:** **112.65 kilometers per hour (70 miles per hour)**

 **Notable features:** **A** **large and sickle-shaped talon located on the second toe of each hind foot**

 **Means of attacking: Biting, slashing, spitting acid**

 **Summary:**

 **Named by a small child that survived the first recorded attack from the creature, the Yoshi has become one of the most feared Grimm in the world. The fierce pack hunter is predominantly found in Hoshido's tall grassy and heavily-forested areas. A highly-aggressive predator, several military patrols have spotted Yoshi fighting with other species of Grimm such as Tyrant-class and Reaper-class Grimm. It is currently unknown why these confrontations have occurred as researchers in remnant had long-theorized of a social hierarchy within the various species of Grimm.**

 **Some hunters believed that Yoshi are capable of formulating advance strategies and problem-solving**. **They are the only known species of Grimm that have shown the ability to quickly adapt their behavior to counter the capabilities of the tool-using humans and Faunus. In one recorded incident, a pack of Yoshi deliberately left a wounded soldier alive to act as bait for the others to help and ambushed the squad of soldiers that arrived to help. In direct response to these disturbing tactics, both Remnant and Hoshidan forces began performing mercy killings on their wounded from a safe distance.**

 **Accounts from survivors indicate that Yoshi possess the ability to communicate in the form of hisses and squawking. While beowolves are capable of doing the same, they haven't shown the ability to nonverbally communicate with each other. Researchers have openly dismissed these claims as wild stories being told by paranoid soldiers and terrified civilians. It wasn't until a hunter by the name of Qrow Branwen confirmed the stories as fact, did experts start taking the claims seriously.**

 **Tactical Advice:**

 **If you're part of a squad make sure that you have sentries looking in four different directions at all times. Bringing a light reconnaissance** **vehicle is recommended as a mounted heavy machine gun will likely increase the odds of survival in case of attack. It is highly-recommend to avoid sending out night patrols as it's theorized that Yoshi become more active at night. If you need to patrol areas with tall grass, burn the grass to eliminate the Grimm's ability to conceal itself.**

Footage of a Yoshi Attack

 _A large group of terrified Atlesian soldiers mistakenly run into a large field of long grass. They were desperate to escape from a large unit of Hoshidan samurai that had accidently stumbled across their camp site for the night._

" _Move! Go, Go, Go!" Dozens of voices yelled out as they started cutting a path through the field._

 _A Hoshidan collaborator stops at the entrance to the field and realizes the soldier's terrible mistake._

" _Don't go into the long grass!" The traitor yelled out as he knew that many predators like the tiger resided in tall grass._

 _More soldier run blindingly past him. Seeing that he has no other option, the collaborator throws his backpack onto the ground and runs into the field to catch up with the others._

" _Not into the long grass!" He yells out in an effort to get the soldiers to turn back._

 _The soldiers run through the field in a line as a possible deterrent against predators, but a group of hunters had other plans. The heads of several Yoshi poked out from the top of the grass as the men ran passed without noticing them. As the frightened men continued shouting, the Yoshi start cutting their own paths through the grass as they got closer to the group._

 _Starting from the back, the soldiers were picked off one by one. It took a few seconds for the men in the front to realize what was happening. When they finally did, they scattered in every direction and started screaming for their lives. Like a pack of sharks entering a feeding frenzy at the smell of blood, the Yoshi abandoned their stealth approach and started rapidly attacking the soldiers._

 _One of the soldiers was foolish enough to turn around to see if anything was chasing after him. It was at that moment that a Yoshi leaped into the air and landed on top of the frightened soldier before tearing him to shreds._

Footage of Yoshi Intelligence

 _A Hoshidan soldier was running towards a tree for his safety when he found himself headed off by a Yoshi. He turns around in the hopes of running the other way, but finds that there is three more Yoshi standing behind him. In a moment of desperation, he drew his sword as the Grimm cautiously approached. Not more than a few feet away, the leader of the trio stops and peers at him._

 _The ashigaru_ _swung hard, but the Grimm feinted. From behind him, another Yoshi slashed at the back of his legs and severed his tendon muscles. The Hoshidan cried out in pain and dropped to the ground from his own body weight. Unable to walk, he attempts to crawl away from the foul beasts. The effort clearly causes him great pain. Strangely, Yoshi suddenly don't seem interested in him anymore._

 _Rather, they were "talking" among themselves. The soldier was amazed to find himself still in the land of the living. Suddenly, one of the Yoshi slashes at him again. But it's delicately and not a mortal blow, just a very painful one. The ashigaru cried out louder this time._

 _Hearing the cry, a squad of Atlesian soldiers rushes over to the scene and finds the wounded ashigaru on the ground. He was laying face-down and barely moving, but he was still moaning. All of the Yoshi have disappeared from the area. In the lead, one of the younger Atlesians starts to cautiously walk toward the down enemy. But the squad's leader grabbed the inexperienced soldier and held him back._

" _It's not safe." The Sergeant spoke in a serious manner._

 _The private shot a nasty glare at the noncommissioned officer for stopping him. The resentment between the new recruit and battle-hardened veteran was visibly apparent as the war had required the four kingdoms of Remnant to start drafting people for the war effort._

" _We have to capture him for information that could be useful." The private tried to argue to his squad mates._

 _However, his arguments fell on deaf ears as the squad started climbing nearby trees for safety._

" _He's right. A predator wouldn't leave a kill wounded." The squad's second in command bluntly stated as he climbed the tree._

 _The private glared at the squad's willingness to write somebody off as dead._

" _He's not a kill, he's still alive." The private angrily shot back in disgust._

 _He broke free from the sergeant's grip and started cautiously walking towards the downed ashigaru. The Atlesian infantryman was only a foot away from the tree that the squad had climbed up, when the Yoshi sprung out of their hiding places. They were almost able to catch him before the sergeant and his second-in-command were able pull the private up into the tree. The Yoshi glared up at them as their plan didn't work._


	12. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: The Frustrations of Yang**

* * *

Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna step out from the forest and into a clearing that surrounded a circular stone temple. The outer structure was broken and decrepit, but the platforms around its inside looked brand new. Each of the platforms held a black or gold object that couldn't be described from a distance.

"Think this is it?" Yang asked her partner.

Blake gave the blonde-haired girl an incredulous look before heading down the hill towards the derelict building. Her partner quietly shrugged her shoulders before following after her. They walked across the floor and took notice of the items on each pedestal as they looked familiar.

"Chess pieces?" Blake questioned in confusion as she looked at a black king.

When Ozpin had mentioned relics before catapulting them into the forest, she figured that the objects would be valuable or something.

"It looks like we weren't the first ones to get here as some of the pieces are missing." Yang stated as she pointed out the obvious.

Blake rolled her eyes behind her partner's back as they were supposed to pick one and return to the cliff with it.

Blake: Well, I guess we should pick one.

Yang briefly studies the remaining pieces before setting her sights upon a knight piece. She wasn't deeply familiar with the name of the various chess pieces as the board game was extremely boring in her humble opinion. She briefly studied one of the golden knight pieces before picking it up and showed it to Blake.

"How about a cute little pony?" She suggested.

Blake wanted to facepalm at the fact that she got paired up with a living example of the dumb-blonde stereotype. However, she was trying to hide from Red Fang as they had issued a kill order on any former members of White Fang that didn't join them. Personal self-control and subtle manipulation were her two biggest allies at the moment.

"Sure." The feline faunas said while smirking.

They walked towards each other to the center of the temple floor.

"That wasn't too hard!" Yang exclaimed as she stretched her arms into the air.

Besides running into a couple of Ursa at the beginning, they didn't have any real problems in the forest.

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." Blake responded.

They shared a small smile at the implication that the initiation was a cake walk. The moment was ruined by the dying screams of an unknown beast that seem to resonate throughout the forest and causing a mass panic amongst the smaller nevermore residing within the trees. Yang turned towards the direction of the scream's source.

"Blake, did you hear that?" She asked with a bit of worry in her voice.

Blake didn't answer as she was busy staring at something in the sky. Her concealed cat ears could hear faint screaming coming from someone riding a giant nevermore that was flying high above the destroyed temple.

"Blake, did you hear that? What should we do?" Yang asked as she turned to her partner for advice.

However, the part-feline was still focused on the sky as something detached from the giant nevermore. The faint-but-growing-louder sound of somebody saying a drawn out heads up could be heard as a red and black blur came crashing to the ground. The familiar sound of her sister's voice followed by a loud thud was enough to cause Yang to forget about the scream.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked in a calm manner.

Ruby sat up with a dazed look on her face as cutesy beowolves and stars circled around her head.

"Oohhhh... What was that?" She asked as the scythe-user shook her head to get rid of the dizziness.

Yang was utterly confused by the sudden appearance of her half-sister.

"I…." The blonde beauty started speaking before something cut her off.

Several crashing noises were heard in the forest ahead of them and a lone Ursa comes out with claws swiping at empty air. A blast of pink energy hit the Grimm in the back that caused it to crash to the ground and deposit its unseen rider. The rider in question was a girl with short orange hair and turquoise-colored eyes. The clothing that she wore was a bizarre mix and match of sorts.

"YEEEE-HAAAAW!" The girl yelled out in excitement as she rolled off of the bear-like Grimm's back.

She got up and turned around to look at the dead terror of humanity with sadden eyes.

"Awwww….It's broken." The girl dejectedly said before dashing onto the Grimm's neck and briefly observed the carcass as her partner came up behind her.

Blake could see that the new girl's partner was completely out of breath from chasing after an Ursa being ridden like a horse. Unlike everybody else in the area, the partner was a black-haired young man with a streak of hair that was dyed magenta.

"Nora! Please... Don't ever do that again." He pleaded in between pants to his partner as he leaned on the monster's carcass.

He looked up to find a pink-doted outline of where his partner should be and realized that Nora had run off again. He started frantically searching for the bubbly red-head in the hopes of keeping her from causing serious trouble. The beleaguered teen quickly found her in the temple and staring at a golden rook relic.

"Ooooohh... I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora said as she grabbed it before she started dancing and singing with the chess piece.

The young man pinched his nose at the frustrating scene that was being played out before him. Nora always had a bad case of attention deficit disorder and it had caused a great amount of problems for them in the past. While he was grateful to her for remaining friends with him during the war, he did get annoyed with her antics.

"Nora!" The young man yelled out.

Nora stopped dancing with the rook balancing on her head before saluting her partner. She tilted her head slightly to the side in order to get the relic to drop into her hand.

"Coming, Ren!" She responded before skipping off to her friend.

Both Yang and Blake were utterly confused by the scene that had just happened.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked to her partner with a small smirk.

She could see the frustration that was building inside of her partner and found it amusing.

"I..." Yang stared to say again.

Before she was interrupted again by the sudden appearance of Fox with Pyrrha Nikos in his arms like she was a newly-wedded bride.

"Did he just appear out of thin air with a young woman in his arms?" Blake asked for a third time with an unsurprised look on her face.

Yang was getting angrier with each passing second until she let out a small growl and erupted in a small burst of flames.

"I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!" She yelled out in frustration as she angrily glared at the ninja as he gently set his partner on her feet.

The tick-tock sound of a clock counting down could somehow be heard as the two seconds that Yang demanded occurred. The only thing that happened during those two seconds was an out of breath Ren running over to a ditzy Nora. At the same time, Blake and Ruby started looking up into the sky.

"Umm... Yang?" Ruby commented as she tugged on her sister's sleeve and pointed upwards.

Up above, Weiss was hanging on a talon of a gigantic Nevermore for dear life.

"How could you just leave me?!" Weiss yelled down to Ruby.

Fox wanted to roll his eyes in irritation at the sheer uselessness that the Schnee heiress was currently showing.

"I did say jump!" Ruby yelled back.

The shinobi wanted to chuckle at the response that the scythe-user had just given.

"She's going to fall." Blake stated in a bored tone.

Like many faunas, she didn't hold the Schnee family in very high regard for a variety of reasons before the war. However, the immoral actions of the Schnee Dust Company during the war had reduced that opinion to a new record of low.

"She'll be fine" Ruby dismissively answered.

Everybody watched in a mixture of horror and stunned awe as Weiss lost her grip and began plummeting to the ground. While Fox wanted the Schnee heiress to fall to her death, his old hero complex was refusing to allow it to happen.

" _Fūton: Shinkū uzu no jutsu!"_ The shinobi mentally shouted while he focused on the space just below the heiress.

To everybody that wasn't familiar with the art of Ninjutsu, it seemed like a large tornado had appeared out of thin air to slow the Schnee heiress' descent. However, Blake knew better as she had seen similar things occur during her time in Hoshido. She wasn't going to question the reasoning behind the ninja's decision to save Weiss' ungrateful life.

"Great! The gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang loudly proclaimed as she shot a nasty look at the ninja like he was responsible for the situation.

It was something that didn't go unnoticed as Fox responded by subtly flipping the bird at her. He was used to people blaming him for all of their problems and short-comings that a girl with abandonment issues didn't faze him in the slightest.

"Listen, we just need to get out of here and fast before more Grimm show up!" Ren called out.

In his mind, Fox quickly formulated a plan of attack that had worked in the past. One group would act as a distraction for a set period of time to allow a second group to complete the mission with minimal resistance from the enemy. It had been proven to be an extremely useful tactic against the machine soldiers of Atlas on numerous occasions.

"Alright, I'll lead the group of people that already have completed the objective and try to stall that thing as long as possible." He barked out while drawing the sword on his back.

Yang wanted to reject the plan on the sheer principle of it being suggested by a Hoshidan, but found that she couldn't go through with the act. Realizing that she had no other option, she reluctantly agreed with the plan of attack.

"Fine, but I'll kill you if Ruby gets hurt in any way." She threatened the shinobi.

Fox simply ignored the threat and focused on the giant terror bird that wanted to kill them. In the darkest corners of his mind, he was trying to figure out a way to take the massive beast down without much effort or risk on their part.

* * *

 **Omake #1: The Adventures of Doctor Zwei**

* * *

Jaune Arc was lying on a therapy chair that was located within the office of the Folsom Prison's therapist. Sitting upright in a comfy chair located next to the therapy sofa was a tri-colored Corgi that was wearing a dog-sized medical coat and a pair of reading glasses. In one paw was a small notepad, while the other was holding a pencil.

"Well, Doctor Zwei. I guess the main reason why I enlisted was to help out my family back at the farm." Jaune explained the reasons why he got into the military in the first place.

Zwei let out a sad whimper as he jotted down the information on the notepad. However, the blonde-haired convict decided to go on a tangent about the current situation that he was in.

"I'm sorry to ask this, but why am I seeing a dog for therapy?" He asked the person that was behind the one-way mirror located on the other side of the room.

Zwei looked up from his notepad and let out a frustrated growl at the sudden change in topic.

" **The Corgi was the only person that had applied for the full-time position of being Folsom prison's therapist."** The person behind the one-way mirror answered over the room's intercom system.

That raised even more questions in Jaune's mind. The convicted blonde wasn't going to bother asking about how a dog was able to get a doctorate in psychology. During the war, he had seen a ninja summon a pack of talking dogs.

"How does a dog fill out paperwork?" He asked with confusion in his voice.

The sound of paper being shifted around could be heard over the intercom as the person behind the one-way mirror looked for Zwei's job application. After a few minutes of searching, they found the document in question.

" **Apparently, he fills paperwork in pen."** The person answered with complete serious.

Jaune could only face fault at the response that he was been given. Zwei gave a dog equivalent of a chuckle at the reaction that the human had just shown.

* * *

 **Okay, next chapter will skip the fight with the nevermore as team RWBY will take it down like they did in the canon universe. However, I will be showing how Shino had died during the war in a dream sequence. Hopefully, I'll be able to show how each member of the Konoha eleven fell in battle.**


	13. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Team NNPR is Born!**

* * *

The would-be hunters and huntresses that managed to survive Beacon's initiation ceremony were gathered in the auditorium as Ozpin announced the newly-formed teams. Out of the one-hundred applicants, only forty had been able to achieve the assigned objective. The rest had either failed to retrieve a relic in time or met a grizzly end at the hands of a Grimm. While it may seem cruel and heartless to celebrate after people had died, it was necessary for everyone to move on.

"Russel Thrush… Cardin Winchester…. Dove Bronzewing…. and Sky Lark. The four of you have successfully retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL that will be led by... Cardin Winchester!" Ozpin announced as the screen of the auditorium shows the boys' profiles as they lined up for the applauding audience.

As the four students walked up to the stage in order to take their places in front of the headmaster, the audience gave another round of applause. It took a few minutes for everybody to calm down as a sense of uneasiness started to settle in.

"As all of you are well-aware, the recent war between the former elemental nations and Remnant has left a great amount of animosity in the world. This hatred and distrust cannot be allowed to continue as the Grimm feed off of such negative emotions. Therefore, Beacon Academy will be acting as the official host to a representative of Hoshido. For safety reasons and his own personal preference, I will be announcing his assigned codename in place of his actual name during team placement." Ozpin started explaining to the gathered crowd.

Fox had the violent urge to strangle the headmaster for telling everybody about him, when they were going to see him in a couple of seconds. He didn't mind the fact that Beacon's staff had been informed as that was expected. But he didn't want the entire campus to know that a former enemy was within their midst.-

"In addition to his studies, he will be assisting professor Port and Doctor Oobleck in their respective classes." The silver-haired man continued his exposition.

At this point, Fox wanted to fade away in order to avoid the spotlight that was being forced upon him. In his younger years, he would have eagerly enjoyed being the center of everybody's attention. However, the deaths of countless high-profile shinobi during the war by assassination had turned that desire into dust in the wind.

"Agent Fox…Lie Ren…Pyrrha Nikos….and Nora Valkyrie. The four of you have retrieved the white rook pieces from the temple. From this day onward, you will work together as Team NNPR. You will be lead by Pyrrha Nikos." Ozpin announced to the astonishment of everybody.

Normally, Ozpin would appoint the person that had shown the most leadership qualities during the Initiation ceremony. However, the delicate political situation around Naruto's attendance required him to appoint someone that the Vale council would tolerate being in charge. Ren could be eliminated as people would mistake him for a citizen of Hoshido on the account of his clothing. Putting Nora in charge of the team was just asking for a mountain of paperwork. Unfortunately, this had left Pyrrha as the only viable candidate for the position.

" _I can't believe that I've been appointed as team leader."_ Pyrrha thought as she believed that Fox was going to be placed in charge of the team.

It took a few seconds for anybody to do anything as their brains tried to process what they had just heard. The first person to react was Nora as she let out a laugh of joy and began hugging her best friend at the announcement of them being on the same team. Before long, people were clapping at the announcement that the invincible girl would be leading the team.

"Congratulations, young lady." The headmaster spoke in a polite manner to the four-time winner of Minstrel tournament.

For a few seconds, Pyrrha didn't do anything as she was still stunned by the announcement that she had been appointed as team leader. It took a painful jab in the ribs by Yang to snap her out of the stupefied gaze that she had fallen into. Without any hesitation, she grabbed her partner by the left arm and started dragging the reluctant ninja towards the stage with a level of unnatural strength.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna….Ruby Rose…..Weiss Schnee…..Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. You will be lead by... Ruby Rose!" The headmaster announced as he motioned towards the four as they stood before him.

Weiss looked to her right in surprise, while Ruby stood in obvious shock as Yang went over to hug her sister.

"I'm so proud of you!" the blonde yelled out in joy.

While Yang was busy crushing Ruby to death with a bear hug, Fox was giving Ozpin a questioning look from a distance. While he was used to seeing fifteen-year-olds being placed in command, they were often given subordinates with less experience and assigned missions that weren't life or death situations. The headmaster's action was already causing friction to appear within the newly-formed team as the Schnee was rejecting the arrangement.

" _Looks like things are shaping up to being a very interesting year."_ The ninja thought as he unknowingly shared the sentiment with the headmaster.

* * *

 _Raven Branwen was sitting on a broken piece of stone that had been one of many that had formed the base of the castle that Remnant Coalition Forces had just captured. It had been a very intense siege that had lasted for three months, but the twelfth Atlesian infantry brigade had taken the fortification. The soldiers were furious at the fact that the entire military operation had been stalled for several months by a ragtag group of farmers and craftsmen. They were so angry that many were taking their frustrations out on the few prisoners that the brigade had managed to capture._

 _The huntress tried her best to ignore the pained screams of the defeated Hoshidans as they were tortured to death. While she wanted to intervene and put a stop to this madness, the brigade's commander had made it clear that any attempts to stop the troops' reprisals would have dire consequences. So she was forced to stand by and watch as the Atlesians committed acts of terror and barbarism that made them worse than any sort of Grimm that she'd encountered in the past._

" _Hey, look at what we got here! It's one of those pajama wearing freaks of nature!" One of the officers shouted out with maniacal glee._

 _Raven looked up and saw a fourteen-year-old boy trying to crawl away with only one hand. The teen had a fair-skin_ _tone and dark-brown hair that was caked with blood_. _He was wearing brown pants with a sea-green jacket that had a high and upturned collar. Tied around his forehead was a dark-blue headband that had a metal plate with a stylized leaf riveted to the cloth. It was obvious that the kid was one of those shinobi that the defectors constantly talked about._

 _The officer that had spotted the wounded ninja briskly walked over and ruthlessly kicked the lad onto his back. Such brutality towards the wounded had become a common sight on the battlefield as Remnant forces extracted revenge on the "so-called" primitives of the fifth continent. However, it didn't make it easier for her to watch._

" _Freaks of nature like you have been causing problems for us and it's time to pay the price." The officer sadistically said as he pulled out a heavy-duty revolver from its holster and leveled it at the ninja._

 _BANG!_

 _The sound of a gun being fired followed by pained screams echoed throughout the castle's grounds. The officer had shot the ninja in the hand and completely destroyed the appendage above the wrist. All around her, soldiers were cheering at the horrific sight. The legendary discipline of Atlas had been replaced with a psychotic bloodlust that belonged to serial killers and extremists._

" _Corporal Almond! Bring that flamethrower over here." The officer barked out as he holstered the revolver._

 _Raven had to resist the urge to vomit as the man swaggered over with the terrible weapon strapped to his back. While all of the weapons in Remnant's arsenal relied on dust to function, flamethrowers were the sole exception as they used a flammable chemical mixture to kill people. It didn't burn on the same level of intensity as the bizarre fire magic that locals used, but the volatile mixture did its job._

 _Corporal Almond lifted the flamethrower's wand into the air and let off a burst of fire as a show of intimidation. However, the ninja was able to stop whimpering in pain to give a defiant glare towards his executioner that showed no fear._

" _May the great Monty in the sky bestow mercy upon your soul in the afterlife." Raven thought as the corporal leveled the flamethrower's wand at the handless ninja and released a torrent of flames._

 **-Dream Over-**

Raven awoke with a start as the memory of a young man being burned to death continued to play in her mind. She looked around and found to her relief that she was still inside of the usual cave that she used for shelter during visits to Patch Island. Ever since the war, it had become harder for her to get a decent night of sleep. Every horror that she had witnessed during the war would constantly replay themselves in her dreams.

" _Nothing good had come from that damned war that Atlas started."_ The ōdachi-user thought as she got up and dusted off the backside of her shallow-cut black dress.

That line of thought was absolutely true as the world had taken a turn for the worse because of the war. New species of Grimm had appeared in Hoshido and they were far deadlier than anything that Remnant had seen before the war. The balance of power had been greatly altered as Atlas had lost forty-percent of its air fleet and the Kingdoms were facing the threat of a major economic depression. The only country that seemed to have benefitted from the entire ordeal was the Hoshido.

"That's not true; the people of Hoshido have lost a great deal of their cultural heritage." Raven whispered as she recalled the needless destruction that the war had wrought.

She could understand the destruction of the numerous castles that dotted the Hoshidan landscape as they were a wartime asset of the enemy. However, the excuses that she had been given about the desecration of religious sites and the burning of libraries had been less than satisfying. The fact that the Schnee Dust Corporation was allowed to run amuck and plunder the continent's resources didn't improve the situation.

" _That's not including the rumors of the Schnee Corporation conducting human experimentation on Hoshidans and using slave-labor to mine for dust."_ Raven bitterly thought.

Despite the repeated denials from Frost Schnee, many people believed that he had authorized such actions during the war. However, nobody in Remnant was willing to start a criminal investigation as the company had a virtual monopoly over the dust industry. It looked like the Emperor of Hoshido was only person willing to take action against the corporate giant.

"Of course, Emperor Gōda's education in the ways of Confucianism may have a role in his disdain for Jacques Schnee." She theorized aloud.

According to Confucianism, the merchant class as a whole was untrustworthy and dishonorable as they gained wealth by selling the creations of others. However, the Schnee Corporation's absolute control over the world's dust production could be seen as a serious security threat to Hoshido in the event of war. So it was hard to tell if Gōda's dislike stemmed from Confucian teachings or concern for his kingdom's safety.

Only time would tell if the Emperor's defiance would payoff for the fledgling kingdom.

* * *

 **I apologize for not updating, I was extremely busy with activities that were needed for school during the summer. Now I'm back and I'll try to post the next chapter sooner.** **Onto important business for this story.**

 **I'm going to have Shikamaru and Kiba show up in the story. However, only one of them will survive it. So please vote on who gets to live in your reviews.**


	14. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: All Sorts of Headaches**

* * *

Winter Schnee wanted to bang her head repeatedly against a wall as a messenger from her father approached the bulkhead. Of course, her father would somehow find out about her mission to Beacon Academy and try to take advantage of the situation. The man had numerous contacts within the Atlas military and many of them were high-ranking officers. It was just one more thing that she and General Ironwood needed to address after her mission was over.

"Lady Winter, I have a message from your father and it's important!" The messenger yelled out in a feeble attempt to be heard over the engines of the bulkhead.

That's was so typical of her father to label anything related to the company's reputation and success as important. She didn't know how mother was able to tolerate such behavior from him before she had been assassinated by a member of white fang. No doubt, he wanted her to convince Hoshido's representative to allow the company to operate within the newly-formed kingdom.

"You can tell father that I'm not going to play the role of devil's advocate for him or the Schnee Corporation." The Lieutenant Colonel responded as she climbed aboard the VTOL.

The two of them had parted on less than amicable terms when she had left for Atlas Academy at seventeen. It had been so bad that Frost had cut off his eldest daughter from the family fortune in the hopes of getting her to submit to his views. It had completely backfired as the eldest heiress to the Schnee family had started doing odd jobs in order to pay her way through school. That had been a public relations nightmare as people started accusing him of caring more about the company than his own family.

"It has nothing to do with him trying to get the right to mine in Hoshido, ma'am! It's about the accusations about the Schnee Corporation conducting human experimentation!" The messenger cried out in a desperate effort to prevent winter from leaving without talking to him.

Hearing about one of the biggest crimes that the Schnee Corporation was being accused of committing, Winter calmly ordered the pilot to not takeoff. She got off the Bulkhead and walked over to the messenger with a scowl on her face that was usually reserved for incompetent subordinates.

"You have two minutes to explain, so make them count." She coldly commented to the messenger.

The man gulped in fear as he realized that the young woman in front of him wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"During the war, your father noticed discrepancies in multiple equipment request forms that were signed by a Doctor Wilhelm Merlot." The messenger started explaining to the heiress.

Somehow, the name of Doctor Wilhelm Merlot sounded familiar to Winter like she had heard it before.

"So one of father's employees was doing something wrong with equipment provided to them, I don't see how it concerns the Atlesian military." She dismissively commented.

It sounded like her father's company was having serious internal problems, but not something that required military intervention.

"The Schnee Corporation has never employed anybody with the name of Wilhelm Merlot. We managed to track the misplaced equipment and the doctor to a cargo ship that used to belong to a corporate rival before the company was wiped out by Grimm during the fall of Mountain Glenn." The messenger explained.

Winter raised a neatly-trimmed eyebrow at the revelation that a defunct company's cargo ship was somehow involved in this mess. It might not mean much, but she had been dealing with cases that involved a lot of lying and misdirection. There were so many variables in this situation that she simply couldn't write it off as her father trying to protect the company's damaged reputation. Was it possible that a rival company had conducted those horrific experiments and planted evidence to frame the Schnee Corporation?

"Very well, inform father that I will look into this matter during my stay." She spoke before turning around and walking back to the bulkhead.

The messenger politely bowed before leaving the air pad.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

* * *

Taiyang was staring in absolute disbelief at his former brother-in-law as the man sat at the dining table with a glass of whiskey. Somebody had exhumed Summer's body without alerting anyone and nobody had a clue as to who was responsible for this travesty. The father of two didn't know what was worse, the fact that some maniac was running around with his wife's remains or how calm Qrow was acting.

"Do you have a lead to the person that's responsible?" The school teacher questioned as he fell onto the living room couch.

Qrow wanted to lie and say that he did have a clue, but he knew better than to do it as Taiyang would do something irrational and stupid. When Raven was pregnant with Yang, his friend started excitedly talking about her becoming a stay-at-home mom and him getting a steady job at Signal Academy. Despite her stubborn refusal to admit it, his talk about settling down and become a housewife had frightened her enough to leave.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a single lead at the moment as the person has a seven day lead over us." The alcoholic hunter admitted to his best friend.

Most of the suspects could be eliminated as they wouldn't have any interest in a decaying corpse of fallen huntress. The sole exception being Cinder Fall, but he honestly doubted that it was her as she was currently focused on locating Amber's comatose body. While he did hear rumors of a Hoshidan spell that is capable of resurrecting the dead, the man refused to believe that such a possibility existed.

"Then why are you wasting time here and not out looking for this bastard!" Taiyang yelled out in frustration.

Qrow took the yelling in stride as his former teammate was a very emotional man at the best of times.

"Because I'm here to tell you to not notify the girls about this until we have everything resolved." The scythe-user explained as he knew what Ruby and Yang would do if they found out about it.

Ruby would have a very intense emotional breakdown and Yang would go on a rampage that would end with her being arrested. It had taken years for them to recover from Summer's death and they were still recovering in some way. The news that her body had been stolen would undo everything.

"They have a right to know, Qrow!" Taiyang argued.

Qrow shook his head in disappointment at Taiyang's shortsightedness and the man's inability to recognize the repercussions that would be created from such an action. During their time at Beacon, they would always end up in trouble because the blonde-haired man inability to think before acting. While Summer had viewed it as a charming attribute, he and Raven would always get irritated with Taiyang.

"They do have a right to know, but telling them at this moment isn't the smartest thing to do." The alcoholic advised to his best friend.

Taiyang calmed down a bit at hearing his best friend agreeing with him on this issue. Qrow had a very nasty habit of playing the devil's advocate that developed over the years, but the father of two had developed a grudging appreciation for it. He had started to rely on advice from his former brother-in-law in recent years as the few times that he didn't do it, there had been severe consequences.

* * *

 **In the Capital of Hoshido**

* * *

Emperor Matsunoshin Gōda was sitting in a horse-drawn carriage as he toured the capital city of Hoshido with a small escort of samurai riding on horseback. While they had captured a large number of automobiles during the war, all of them had been deemed unsuitable for his use. So he was stuck using a horse carriage until they had the sufficient industrial capacity to start building luxury products without to worry about it interfering with the numerous civil programs. Developing the country's infrastructure was top priority in case of another war between Hoshido and the rest of the world breaks out.

" _I vowed on my family's honor that Hoshido will become a kingdom without equal."_ The emperor mentally vowed as the carriage drove passed a group of people that were carrying a large stack of planks towards a construction site.

From the comfort of his carriage, he could see numerous buildings of steel and concrete being made by construction workers. Despite the stoic persona that he wore in public, the emperor was extremely proud of his people for the hard work that they were putting into rebuilding their nation. For the better or worse, the entire world had change for them.

"My lord, perhaps we should return to the palace before the nobles try to do something." One of the samurai escorts cautioned.

"Very well, someone please inform the driver that we need to return to the palace." Matsunoshin politely requested to his guard.

He already knew that a few of the daimyō would use his absence from the palace to try and push a marriage that would gain power for the aristocracy. To his absolute disgust, most of the girls that the daimyō wanted him to marry weren't even fourteen yet. If he remembered correctly, then the oldest had just turned fifteen about two weeks ago. It must be a horrible feeling to know that your father was trying to whore you out in a desperate bid to gain more political power.

" _Thankfully, that particular headache will disappear in a few months time."_ The emperor thought as he could hear one of the guards relaying his request.

Unbeknownst to a majority of people, the young ruler had been secretly courting a wolf Faunus for quite awhile. Her name is Albinia Esmeralda and she was a doctor that had made the dangerous journey to Hoshido during the early part of the war to help people in need. They had met during one of his numerous visits to the various field hospitals that were filled to the brim with wounded soldiers. Despite getting off on the wrong foot, the two of them fell in love with each other. In fact, he had purposed to her on the day that the armistice was signed that paved the way for a peace treaty to be negotiated.

"With any luck, we could have a child in a few years." Matsunoshin muttered with a bit of hope in his voice.

He knew that if something happened to him and there wasn't an heir, then the kingdom would plunge into civil war as the daimyō would start fighting amongst themselves for the empty throne. He had named Naruto Uzumaki as his heir-apparent as the young man was well-liked by a few of the daimyō that he saved before and during the war. The fact that he was a direct descendant of the grandson to the last ruling daimyō of Uzu no Kuni would give him the necessary credibility to secure the throne.

" _That being said, his status as a Jinchūriki and my heir-apparent has painted a huge target on his back. The fact that only an Uzumaki can contain the Kyūbi no Yoko also needs to be addressed and soon as I fear that the Akatsuki will try something in the near future."_ The emperor thought with a bit of sadness.

He hated to do this to a person that he considered a friend, but the threat posed by a rampaging Kyūbi was far greater than any Grimm with one notable exception. He was going to make a special exception in the marriage laws and required Naruto to marry multiple women in order to restore the Uzumaki clan. It may seem cruel to subject someone to such a thing and condemn one of their future children to such a fate; it was a necessary evil that needed to be done in order to prevent the loss of innocent life in the future. That being said, the child wouldn't be treated like most Jinchūriki had been before the war.

Yes, Matsunoshin Gōda was well-aware about how a majority of the hidden ninja villages had treated their Jinchūriki before the war. With the notable exception of Kumogakure, they treated them worse than how Remnant treated its faunas inhabitants. In fact, placing the Jinchūriki under the care of the imperial household had been one of his first decrees as emperor of Hoshido. Some like Ōnoki protested about this decision as it severely weakened the shinobi system that been established over a hundred years ago. However, the young emperor remained steadfast in his ruling.

"I can only hope that Naruto can forgive me for what I'm about to do to him." Matsunoshin sadly commented out loud to nobody in particular as his carriage started to slowly turn around in order to head towards the imperial palace.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

* * *

Following the team formation ceremony, Ozpin had retreated to his office to look over some information that been supplied to him. It was the limited amount of combat data that Qrow was able to provide on Naruto Uzumaki and Hoshido with a critical eye. The boy had been able to become a master swordsman in a short amount of time and force Raven Branwen to retreat from the field after a pitched battle. It was a testament to the young man's capability to learn as Raven was widely considered the best swordswoman in Remnant. However, it was the arsenal of jutsu that concerned the headmaster as nothing in Remnant could completely counter them. One particular jutsu had Ozpin worried.

" _While aura is able to negate most of the damage caused by Ninjutsu, the Rasengan is capable of forcing its way to the target. The Rasenshuriken is particularly dangerous as it attacks on a cellular level and can be thrown like an actual shuriken, which shouldn't be possible as its pure energy."_ The white-haired man thought as he recalled the footage of a medium-sized flotilla bring destroyed by the blonde-haired ninja.

The power of a jinchūriki was easily on par with a seasonal maiden and needed to be respected at all costs. With some hesitation, Ozpin pulled out a piece of weathered paper that talked about the one tailed-beast that hadn't been seen during the war. The Kyūbi no Yoko was widely-considered by the Hoshidans to be the most powerful of the nine tailed-beasts and for good reason. It could create tsunamis or level entire mountain ranges with a single swipe from one of its nine tails.

"Perhaps the reason why Grimm didn't exist in Hoshido until the war's second year was because of these tail-beasts." The headmaster theorized as he looked at another translated documented provided by Doctor Oobleck.

The paper contained a surviving eyewitness account of a tail-beast destroying a village that was known to be filled with negative emotions. Could it be possible that the tail-beast were acting in a way that prevented the Grimm from populating the fifth continent? It would certainly explain the lack of Grimm on the fifth continent until recently. However, this led to another important question that needed to be addressed.

" _How is Hoshido's Grimm population expanding at such a rapid rate?"_ Ozpin mentally asked as he tried to come up with a reasonable theory.

At first, he thought that the Grimm had been dormant in hidden locations for centuries and the negative emotions generated by the war had woken them. However, he quickly dismissed this notion as historical records indicated that Hoshido had experienced three centuries of constant warfare before the establishment of the ninja villages and no Grimm had appeared during that time frame. This left a theory that he didn't want to be truth, but it was the only one that made any sense.

"Salem must have created these new species of Grimm with the capability of reproducing their kind at a staggering rate." The headmaster muttered aloud as a cold shiver tingled down his spine at such a dark prospect.

While he wanted to deny such a horrifying theory, it was the only one that made any sense to him. While the records from before the Great War were sketchy at best, they showed a gradual increase in Grimm sightings that took almost a decade to reach the amount of Grimm in Hoshido. At the same time, it was impossible for some of the Grimm in Hoshido to reach their current sizes in such a short time frame. It was like they were artificially enhanced by someone or something.

Something sinister was happening in Hoshido and nobody knew what was going on.

* * *

 **Kirin/ Qilin Data Entry**

* * *

 **Average Estimated Height: 3 meters (9 feet)**

 **Average Estimated length: 7 meters (22 feet)**

 **Average Estimated Weight: 453.60 Kilograms (1000 pounds)**

 **Average Running Speed: 48.28 Kilometers per hour (30 Miles per hour)**

 **Estimated Top Speed: 64.37 Kilometers per hour (40 Miles per hour)**

 **Notable features: dear-like antlers, Fu Manchu whiskers, beard**

 **Means of attacking: biting, ramming, stomping, summoning lighting, electromagnetic pulse**

 **Summary:**

 **Named after the mythical creature that it resembles, the Kirin was first discovered in the former territories referred as Kaminari no Kuni. Unlike other Grimm that will attack humans or faunas on sight, Kirin will tend to ignore them until needless provoked. Indeed, most villages tend to allow them to come and go as they please without much of a fuss. It is rumored that they are capable of short-distance flight with the use of electromagnetic wave emitted from its hooves.**

 **Many religious figures within Hoshido believe that the Kirin's peaceful nature has been caused by the non-materialistic lifestyle of monks and nuns living in the mountains of Kaminari** **no kuni. While many experts from Remnant have rejected such a foolhardy notion as mere superstitious nonsense, the theory has received some support as the Kirin are generally found within a walking distance of a Buddhist monastery. It is theorized by some that because of the sky burial practiced by Kaminari monks, the Kirin leave living humans alone and devour the corpses that are left out for them. This ghastly exchange has created a symbiotic relationship between the Monks and the Kirin.**

 **While most call the Grimm by the name of Kirin, some people in isolated regions of Hoshido have been known to refer to the creature as a Qilin. This has led to severe confusion as many outsiders believed that they were talking about a different species of Grimm. Despite the Kirin's peaceful nature, it is not without danger as other Grimm have been known to use them as bait to lure people into ambushes. In another strange occurrence, Hoshidan soldiers have reported seeing Kirin attacking creatures including other Grimm that have gotten too close to certain spots. Nighttime investigations have found Kirin sleeping in pairs in nests that been dug up. Even more concerning is the fact that one of the pair will be missing antlers and is somewhat smaller than the one that does have antlers.**

 **Tactical Advice:**

 **Due to the Kirin's peaceful and largely docile nature, the Hoshidan military has ordered that they be left alone for the time being. Atlesian military officials have issued out similar orders as the Grimm have taken to living near significant religious and cultural sites. If you are forced to engage one, then it is suggested that you take out its legs before trying to kill it.**

* * *

 **Okay, a new chapter for you guys to enjoy. I apologize for taking so long, but it was a nightmare to write this chapter as I redid it about three or four times before I finished it. However, I added the information about a new species of Grimm to compensate for this. The next Grimm is going be another a dinosaur from Jurassic Park and it's a terrible tyrant.**


	15. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Farewell to Friends and First Day of School**

* * *

 _ **Author's note: Someone sent a private message that asked about why I separate Hoshido from the rest of Remnant, when they share the same planet. Well, the answer to that question is quite simple. The kingdom of Hoshido hasn't integrated with the four kingdoms in terms of communication or trade. In comparison, Hoshido's real-world equivalent would be Japan during the 1860s after the United States forcibly ended the country's**_ _ **self-imposed isolation**_ _._

* * *

 **Sendai, Land of Ash**

 **August 5, 2836 A.S.**

 **1045 Hours**

Naruto was riding on top of a captured Atlesian tank with four other ninja that formed his team. They were just one of five ninja squads that been ordered to assist the sixth battalion in a move to severe the foreign invader's supply lines to the front. Unfortunately, the quickest route to the town that was available to them was one that took them right pass an active volcano. It just so happened that the thing had erupted about two days ago and it was still spewing out ash.

"Man, they've been shelling that town for hours! At this rate, there's going to be nothing left for to fight." Naruto complained as artillery shells smashed into buildings located on the town's outskirts.

Unlike the reluctant ashigaru foot soldier that been conscripted into the army, the blonde-haired young man was born and bred to fight. While ninja did a lot of different missions that ranged from weeding gardens to guarding clients during peace time, they were professional warriors at heart.

"That suits me! At least the wind has shifted away from us. I've had my fill of ash from that troublesome volcano." Shikamaru commented with his head turned towards his squad mate.

While all of the squad held the rank of Chūnin, the lazy Nara technically held seniority over them by several months. However, the squad's command structure was informal as they had known each other for years and trusted each other's judgment.

"It's not going to be so bad. Kakashi-sensei said the gaijin are retreating. That's why command ordered another push." Chōji commented as he joined the conversation.

While the big-boned ninja was trying to cheer up his comrades, the war had turned Shikamaru into a cynic.

"He said that the last five times that we've gone in." The black-haired chūnin bluntly pointed out.

While some like Danzō would view such comments as defeatism at best, the squad knew that he was just pointing out a fact.

"Yeah, well if it were for Kakashi-sensei, none of us would've made it out of Kaze no Kuni. So shut up and enjoyed the ride." Kiba barked out.

While they fought against the foreign invaders in several different domains in the last year, the Kaze no Kuni campaign had been the first time that they fought on the frontlines. It had pushed all of them to their absolute limit of endurance.

"Kiba's right. Kakashi has always had our backs, there's no reason to start doubting him now." Chōji stated as the tank got closer to the village gate that been blown open from a previous attempt.

None of them wanted to contemplate the amount of lives spent trying to get that far.

"I wasn't saying that Kakashi was…" Shikamaru started to say before the tank in front of them exploded.

Without any hesitation, the five chūnin jumped off of the tank and ran for the nearest cover. The conscripted soldiers started panicking as they incorrectly assumed that their own side was responsible for the mortar and artillery being rained down upon them. For the next five minutes, the shelling didn't stop as buildings around them were reduced to rubble. After the shelling stopped, the five thirteen-year-olds withdrew from their hidings spots in order to pick up rifles and any ammunition that they could find.

"Alright, let's get down to business! We need to eliminate the cannons in order to allow the rest of the battalion to move up. Keep formation and stay alert!" Kakashi barked out as he held a rifle at the ready in case of emergency.

While Hoshido didn't have any experience in designing weapons that were capable of rapid-fire before the war, they had quickly learned how to make them. The type-4 rifle was a semi-automatic battle rifle that was capable of firing ten rounds of 7.7×58mm cartridges in less than five seconds. While it did have several problems with jamming and internal feed system, the weapon was easy to mass produce with Hoshido's limited industrial capabilities.

The next two hours would be a brutal and slow slog through the bombed-out town ruins as Atlesian soldiers had to be cleared out from every building. They had to clear the town street by street until the squad was only a few blocks away from the town's center. Unfortunately, the enemy had learned their location and started raining mortar rounds upon them in a desperate effort to kill them.

"We need to get to cover and out of the streets. Chōji get this do open!" Kakashi ordered to the big-boned teen.

The portly chūnin nodded his head in understanding and moved in front of the door. With one mighty kick, Chōji kicked the door in and was greeted by a hail of gunfire. Time seem to slow to a crawl as everyone watched as their former classmate was riddled with bullets. With each bullet, the Akimichi's body was forced backwards towards a handrail that was behind him. After the thirtieth round, the dead ninja was forced backwards over the rail and landed in a boneless heap.

"Medic!" Shikamaru yelled out as he rushed over to his best friend's body to see if he was still alive.

Naruto stared at Chōji with shocked eyes as blood gushed out of several chest wounds that were fatal to any normal person. He could barely hear Shikamaru's frantic pleas for a medic as he memorized the stunned expression chiseled on his friend's face. While the Jinchūriki knew that it was pointless for one to come, he wished one would come.

"Everyone get into the building!" Kakashi ordered as black dust and debris came out of the open doorway.

Kiba was the first to go in and the Inuzuka unleashed a hail of bullets of his own against any remnant soldiers still inside.

"We got help, Chōji!" Shikamaru called out as the Nara was in clear denial about his friend's death.

A mortar shell landed at the front end of the street that they were currently on. The enemy had finally zeroed in on their exact location and it was a matter of time before they saturated the area.

"He's dead already, there's nothing we can do!" Kakashi yelled out as he rushed into the building for cover.

With his body acting on its own, Naruto ran over and grabbed Shikamaru by the arm before dragging him into the building. Unbeknownst to all of them, it would be the last time that any of them would see Chōji as a barrage of mortar rounds struck the entire street a few minutes later.

* * *

 **Fast-forward to Present Day**

* * *

Wearing the standard beacon academy uniform with the addition of his facemask, Naruto was walking alongside Ozpin as the two of them discussed ways to educate everyone about Hoshido's history. Normally, the headmaster would have Oobleck handle such things were the doctor's area of expertise. However, the green-haired man's knowledge on that particular field was sorely lacking on the account of Hoshido's past isolation from the world. So now, the headmaster was asking the sole Hoshidan that was attending Beacon to give weekly lectures on the subject.

"So you want me to give history lessons to everyone about my homeland's history?" The blonde-haired jinchūriki questioned in a somewhat astonished manner.

At most, the ninja figured that he would be giving Intel briefings to the teachers about the latest information on the Hoshidan Grimm.

"Normally, I would have Oobleck handle such things as he does have a doctorate degree in history. However, most of the information that we have on your homeland is either out of date or complete fabrications created by Atlesian propaganda." The man explained with a bit of irritation in his voice.

It took a lot to anger the white-haired man, but the Atlesian council's backroom politics had managed to do it. If Remnant had somehow won the war, the bastards had planned to have Hoshido to pay huge reparations that ran up to three hundred billion lien, make large territorial concessions, and force them to falsely admit to starting the war. To make matters worse, they would have disguised their imperialistic ambitions under the illusion of them disarming a threat to world peace. The fools didn't realize that they were setting the world up for a second and more devastating conflict.

"The emperor is well-aware of this problem and took the necessary steps to rectify it by sending a book that contained a complete overview of our kingdom's history." Naruto commented in a flat manner.

Ozpin could tell that Naruto wasn't thrilled with the idea of him teaching huntsmen about the history of his people. The headmaster knew that many Hoshidans were justifiably angry with the four kingdoms for accidentally introducing Grimm to their homeland. From what Qrow told him about them, they made the Grimm of Remnant look cute and cuddly in comparison.

"Yes, but we simply don't have enough time or resources to translate it from Hoshidan to the standard language of Remnant." Ozpin spoke as he escorted the shinobi towards Professor Port's classroom.

The four kingdoms of Remnant shared a common language to avoid another conflict like the Great War from happening, but the kingdom of Hoshido didn't have such a luxury. While members of its military and government were capable of carrying out conversations with someone from Remnant, the majority of Hoshidans weren't capable of doing so.

"I could produce an army of shadow clones to help mass produce a translated textbook for you." Naruto offered to the headmaster.

During the war, he had repeatedly tricked Remnant coalition armies into splitting its forces by creating thousands of shadow clones in a different area that was close to the battlefield. So producing several hundred books in a few days was a really simple thing for him to do. Besides, he really didn't want to teach anybody about the cultural significance of several cities that been turned into battlegrounds over the course of the war.

"While I appreciate the offer, it would be better for international relations if you were to teach the class. Besides, Tsunade and several others did mention to me that you were a capable teacher under the right circumstances. Besides, think of it as your personal effort to establishing mutual understanding between Remnant and Hoshido." Ozpin stated in a somewhat complementary fashion.

Knowing that there was no way that he was going to get out of teaching, Naruto let out a resigned sigh of defeat.

"Fine, I'll teach Hoshidan history to people. But I expect to be allowed to give punishments to those that disrupt the class." Naruto demanded in a firm voice that left no room for argument.

The headmaster nodded his head in agreement as it wouldn't do for people to interrupt a fellow student that was trying to teach them. If his hunch about the real purpose behind Hoshido sending a ninja to Beacon was correct, then it would be a valuable learning experience for his future colleague.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to class." Naruto commented before leaving.

The headmaster shook his head in amusement as he watched the one student that held the greatest potential walk away. While all of the students had the potential to achieve greatness, only a handful would actually accomplish it. For example, Naruto was famous and well-liked in his homeland for inspiring the people of several countries to rise against their oppressive overlords. At same time, he was feared and hated by top-ranking military officials for being a one-man army.

 _"How can someone have two vastly different reputations?"_ Ozpin mentally questioned as he continued on his daily walk through the school hallways.

 **-Two Hours Later-**

The sight of an axe-blunderbuss weapon hung proudly over a collection of the chalkboards that displayed various species of Grimm behind an elderly teacher named Peter Port. While Hoshidan culture expected youth to show respect towards their elders, Naruto wasn't one to follow such conventions. He believed that respect needed to be earned and not be given because of age or position. It was the main reason why he always held Konoha's civilian council in utter contempt as a child. However, he could tell that professor port had was a very experienced hunter and deserved to be respected.

"Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!" The beacon professor joked as a means to break the ice.

The members of RWBY, seated on the front row, are in varying stages of interest. Both Blake and Yang are sitting up and paying attention, Weiss was writing down the information on the blackboards, and Ruby has her head propped in her hand. She had been napping until she had been awoken by Port's terrible joke, which had received a cricket-filled silence from the rest of the class.

"Uhhhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale and the other four kingdoms are humanity's safe havens in a treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." Port started speaking as he tried to recover from the terrible joke that he made.

At the mentioning of huntresses, he paused and gave Yang a wink. Fox couldn't help to silently chuckle as the blonde-haired bombshell groaned uncomfortably at the action.

"….Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!" the professor ended in a dramatic fashion.

A student in the back row raised his fist and let out an excited yep in agreement. He stood like this for a few moments as everyone looked at him strangely before he sat back down with cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"That is what you are training to become. But first, let me tell you a story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..." Port finished before starting about a childhood story.

His words quickly fade into the background, when Weiss noticed that Ruby was very focused on penciling the paper in front of her.

"…Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me..." Professor Port continued to drone on.

The speech devolved into blah-blah-blahs as Ruby snickered at her creation and showed it to her teammates: A general ball-with-limbs-and-a-head drawing of the teacher with stink lines coming from him and "Professor Poop" written underneath. Blake and Yang silently laughed at the picture, but Weiss just looked annoyed.

"…In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!" The teacher said as he finished his story before taking a bow as Weiss slowly got more and more frustrated with Ruby's childish antics.

Naruto could tell that the Schnee heiress still hadn't come to grips with the fact that a fifteen-year-old had been chosen over her to be captain. It was a justifiable frustration as Ruby lacked the maturity to fully understand the weight of her position. At the same time, Weiss was showing why Ozpin hadn't chosen her to be team leader. The white-haired girl was on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum for not getting what she wanted.

"What is the moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!" Port boldly declared

Naruto glanced over to see Ruby balancing an apple on top of a book with her pencil being held by only one of her finger while making a silly face.

"A true Huntsman must be dependable!" Port continued to lecture like he didn't notice Ruby's actions.

Somehow Ruby had fallen back to sleep again in the first class of the year. Naruto was impressed by this as not even Shikamaru could pull something like that off, and the guy happened to be the living human embodiment of a sloth.

"A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!" The portly teach stated.

Much to Weiss' building anger, Ruby started picking her nose in a not-so-subtle manner.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Professor Port asked to the class.

Naruto could see the Schnee's anger reaching its boiling point with Ruby's antics.

"I do, sir!" Weiss called as she raises her hand.

Everyone was surprised by the site of a Schnee volunteering for something that didn't involve information on dust. After all, it was the only thing that kept Schnee family around, that and their ability to become a convenient meat shield for faunas' ire.

"Well, then, let's find out!" Port declared as he turned to gesture at the glowing pair of red eyes that were surrounded by shadows inside of a violently shaking the cage that trapped it.

Naruto blinked in surprise at the small size of the Remnant Grimm, none of the Grimm in Hoshido was that small. The smallest of them happen to be the dreaded Yoshi and it stood at six feet. Hopefully, the Grimm of Remnant weren't capable of spitting acid like Yoshi as well.

"Step forward, and face your opponent!" Port warned the arrogant heiress.

The unknown monster continued to growl menacingly as Weiss readied her rapier.

* * *

 **Okay, Chapter twelve is officially done. However, I want to mention that I gave the Yoshi the ability to spit acid and updated its data entry to reflect this. By popular vote, Shikamaru gets to live to fight another day and Kiba goes to the great kennel in the sky. So to justify Shikamaru's change in personality and attitude in later chapters, I showed how Chōji** **kicked the bucket at the beginning of this chapter. Now next member of the Konoha eleven on the chopping block is Sakura and it involves Remnant's equivalent to white** **phosphorus.**

 **With that being, said please leave a review.**


	16. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: The Beginning of the Arms Race and Lesson Learned**

* * *

 _ **AN: The author would like to reiterate that he doesn't support or tolerate racism in any way.**_

* * *

Weiss Schnee was wearing her regular attire with Myrtenaster at the ready as the growling creature in the cage continued to trying to escape. From the safety of the front row, the rest of team was cheering for her in their own ways. From the third row, Naruto could only shake his head as it brought back memories of his first and only chūnin exam before the war. The blonde-haired ninja couldn't believe that he used to act in a similar fashion as a greenhorn Genin.

"Goooo, Weiss!" Yang yelled out with a raised fist.

From past experience, Naruto could recognize that the Schnee heiress refused to recognize her teammates as equals. He had to deal with a similar problem with a certain emo that had defected to Orochimaru about a week before hostilities had broken out between Atlas and Hi no Kuni.

"Fight well!" Blake said as she waved a small red flag that had the team's name printed on it in white capitalized letters.

Where and how the disguised faunas managed to get one was beyond Naruto's understanding as the team wasn't a day old. At least, she wasn't shouting out nonsense about the springtime of youth Like Guy and Lee used to do.

"Yeah, represent team RWBY!" Ruby shouted out with great enthusiasm.

Weiss lowered her sword and looked over t her "leader" with a nasty glare.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" The heiress harshly scolded the fifteen-year-old.

Naruto thought that Weiss had stepped out of line with that comment as the other two members had been cheering as well.

"Oh, umm….Sorry…" Ruby meekly apologized to her teammates.

Naruto could only shake his head as the girl was setting up a situation that would allow Weiss to blame her for everything. The only time that you should apologize to a subordinate was when you accidently put them in unnecessary risk or you personally wronged them in some way. Ruby had done nothing to the heiress that warranted an apology.

"Alright, let the match... begin!" Port said as he stood next to the cage with his axe in hand.

The professor swings down and broke the lock that held the cage door up. The cage door dropped to reveal a Grimm that looked like a boar standing inside. Without any hesitation, the foul creature charged at Weiss with the intent of goring her. The white-haired girl managed to use Myrtenaster to deflect its attack in time before rolling to the side and readying herself for its next move. The Grimm turned around and stood its ground from a safe distance away from its enemy as it studied her.

"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port commented from the side.

Naruto was watching Weiss fight and taking notes about this new Grimm at the same time. With the exception of the bloodshrieker, this was the first Grimm that he had seen with almost identical similarities to an actual animal in the wild that wasn't reptilian in nature.

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby called out with worry.

Weiss sped towards the oncoming Boarbatusk and jabbed her blade at its skull until they met and Myrtenaster got trapped in the beast's tusks. Weiss was hanging on to the hilt for dear life as she was tossed around like a ragdoll while she struggled to get the rapier free.

"A bold, new approach. I like it!" Port loudly declared as he tensed up in preparation to intervene if it was necessary.

While Naruto didn't really give a damn about the Schnee heiress, he could understand the professor's subtle action. Besides Weiss and her rapier, he was the only one that was armed and had a clear shot at the Grimm if things got out of hand.

"Come on, Weiss, show it whose boss!" Ruby said in an eager attempt to encourage her teammate.

Weiss turned to glare at Ruby and that was a colossal mistake on her part as the Grimm suddenly turned its head and ripped the sword from her grip. Myrtenaster landed far away from its master, who was knocked back by the creature's tusks.

"Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Professor Port commented in a way that hid his concern.

Weiss looked up in time to see that the Boar Grimm was charging at her again and managed to roll out of the way in time to avoid getting trampled to death. The Grimm crashed into a desk as Weiss rushed towards her sword and slid in order to get it back in her hand.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-" Ruby offered in a genuine attempt to be helpful.

Weiss turned to Ruby with a scowl on her face.

"Stop telling me what to do!" The heiress snarled out.

Ruby looked hurt at Weiss' rebuttal. Meanwhile, the Grimm took the opportunity to leap into the air and form into a ball before spinning rapidly and land on the ground. It was steadily gaining speed until it launched itself at Weiss. As it came closer, Weiss activated one of her blue-white circles and blocked the roll before she leapt onto the now-black snowflake symbol causing it to turn blue again. She drove the blade into the Grimm's unprotected stomach. It let out a squeal of pain before falling silent as Weiss gasped in relief.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Port said as he clapped enthusiastically at the performance.

Weiss carefully stood up at attention from her exhausted position as Ruby continued to frown at her.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... Stay vigilant! Class dismissed!" Port spoke just as the school bell rang.

Weiss glared before turning away and started walking hurriedly to the exit past her teammates.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Nora asked as she watched her leave.

The remaining members of team RWBY look at each other with the same question.

* * *

 **Later That Day**

* * *

Professor Port stared at Fox with a critical eye as the young man rested against the railing of the balcony with arms crossed. The semi-retired hunter could tell that the Hoshidan was a highly-trained fighter as the lad's posture indicated as such. However, it was the somewhat dead-look in the ninja's eyes that deeply concerned the professor as they told a story of great loss and suffering. He wasn't bothered by the fact that he was alone with a Hoshidan as he firmly believed in judging a person by their merits and actions.

"So I understand that you'll be teaching Hoshidan history in Doctor Oobleck's class." Port stated in a genuine effort to strike up a conversation with the young man.

The professor of Grimm studies wanted to make similar arrangements for his class to show the various types of Grimm that existed in the world. The Grimm of Hoshido was reported to be highly-intelligent and vicious in comparison to the ones living with Vale's dominion. While the elderly-man fancied the idea of hunting one in order to get a taxidermy trophy, he knew that it would be too dangerous for someone of his age.

"That's correct, Port-sensei. Ozpin-sensei has requested that I help teach the class in order to gain experience for my future role as the headmaster of the Hoshidan hunter academy." Fox responded as he shifted around a bit to get more comfortable.

Port nodded his head in understanding as the reasoning made a lot of sense as Hoshido was the only kingdom that didn't have an academy of their own. Granted, they didn't have need for one as they never encountered Grimm until recently. Still, the professor couldn't help to feel that Fox was resentful about being assigned a job that he didn't want.

"Yes, well…. I would like to make similar arrangements with you." The teacher politely requested.

Whatever the ninja was going to say was cut off by the sudden appearance of Weiss.

"Professor Port!" Weiss stated as she walked up to him.

The teacher turned around to look at her.

"Ah, Miss Schnee! And to what do I owe this fine pleasure?" Port said with much bravado.

Naruto was standing to the side as he had a feeling about where this conversation was going and it wouldn't be in the Schnee's favor.

"I... I enjoyed your lecture!" Weiss said as she tried to compose herself.

Naruto silently snorted in disgust at Weiss' brown nosing in an underhanded effort to butter up the professor. She had the decency to not demand what she wanted from someone from the very start like Sasuke would have done. So she was a few points above the self-entitled prick in his book.

"Of course you did, child; you have the blood of a true Huntress in you." Port stated as he waved off the compliment like it was nothing.

It was refreshing to be given compliments by students as most tended to think that his classes were boring. While he would admit that listening to someone talk for an hour wasn't the most thrilling activity, they failed to understand the hidden meanings in those lectures.

"You really think so?" Weiss asked with a small smile.

That smile quickly turned into a frown as she started recalling her father criticisms about her decision to become a huntress. The man was impossible to please in any way as she always felt that he cared more about the company than his own family.

"Most surely!" Port jubilantly exclaimed.

That's when he noticed Weiss' small frown and her lack of eye contact. He had a gut feeling that Weiss wasn't happy with her team's arrangements like many people tend to being at first. Then again, she would be unhappier with the situation as the lass had been groomed from an early age to be the successor to the Schnee Corporation.

"Hmm... Something's troubling you." The professor commented.

Naruto sweat dropped at the idea of Professor Port was just realizing that this wasn't a social call. How anyone could be this clueless was beyond him at the moment.

"Yes, sir..." Weiss dejectedly admitted.

Naruto knew what was coming next.

"Dear girl, confess your strife to me!" Port encouraged.

Okay….. Naruto hadn't been expecting that weird proclamation to be made. If Port-sensei started shouting nonsense about the springtime of youth, the man was going to find himself getting tossed over the railing by a very irate jinchūriki. He had to deal with Guy and Lee spouting it for several years and he would damn if he had to deal with it again.

"Well... I-I think I should have been the leader of team RWBY!" Weiss tried explain.

Port remained silent for a moment until he decided to speak.

"That's preposterous!" The man loudly proclaimed causing Weiss to face vault.

Naruto started chuckling at her reaction as he had been half-expecting that to happen.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss said as she started getting angry.

Weiss shot the ninja a dirty look for chuckling at her, but the heiress' poor attempt at intimidation caused the ninja to break out into laughter. He had dealt with several S-rank criminals and threats during the war, so a spoiled-brat was nothing in comparison. It took him a couple of seconds to regain control over himself. When he calmed down enough, Professor Port explained his reasoning.

"I've believed in Professor Ozpin for many years, and the man's never once led me astray!" The elderly man commented.

Weiss couldn't believe what she was hearing from the professor's mouth.

"So you would just blindly accept his decision even after seeing how exceptional I am?" She questioned.

Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously as memories of Sasuke's constant backtalk about Kakashi-sensei's decisions played in his mind. The Uchiha had always been a very proud and vain about his abilities to the point that he would throw a hissy-fit at a person that did something better than him. The third jinchūriki of Kyūbi was going to end this entire mess before Weiss brought up more unpleasant memories.

"Perhaps, Professor Ozpin saw something in Ruby that you lacked." He calmly offered in his first contribution to the conversation.

Both Professor Port and Weiss turned their complete attention onto him.

"Let me give you a hypothetical situation that any hunter or huntress might face in the field." Naruto suggested in a serious manner.

Weiss reluctantly nodded her head in agreement at the ninja's suggestion. The propaganda about ninja being ruthless killers capable of summoning the elements to do their dirty work was playing in her mind as she fearfully looked at the ninja.

"Say your escorting a group of refugees away from the ruins of their community that been destroyed by a pack of Grimm. Several of critically-wounded refugees have repeatedly caused the group to stop in order to have their injuries treated with the limited medical supplies on hand. You know that the pack of Grimm responsible for destroying the town is still hunting for the survivors. None of the refugees have any weapons to defend themselves from a Grimm attack. What do you do?" Naruto spoke in a dead even voice.

Both Port and Weiss held a look of deep contemplation on their faces as they thought about the situation that was given to them. They knew that it was a no-win scenario as any action that was taken would be a violation of a hunter's duty. If they abandoned the critically-injured survivors, then they wouldn't be protecting them. If they kept them, it would be putting the other survivors in needless danger. It was a no-win situation and they knew it.

"This is just one kind of situation that a team leader is forced to face in the field on a regular basis. Can you really handle such responsibilities?" Naruto asked before he started walking away.

Weiss remained silent as she thought about what she had been told by the Hoshidan.

* * *

 **In a undisclosed Location in Atlas**

* * *

It was a very cold day in Atlas, General Ironwood and a contingent of top-ranking officers stood in front of a hanger with looks of anticipation on their faces. Inside of the hanger was a vehicle that been in development for two-years and cost the kingdom of Atlas over fifty-billion lien to develop. Hopefully, the expensive price tag would be worth paying in case of a second war with Hoshido occurred. It was a small price to pay in a desperate effort to ensure that the Hoshidan aircraft were incapable of threatening the kingdom.

" _To think that we were forced to develop a fighter-interceptor after Hoshido unveiled those damned single-seat aircraft of theirs."_ James privately thought as he recalled the situation that forced them to develop their own fighter aircraft.

For the first few years of the war, Remnant forces had complete and total air superiority over the Hoshidan continent. The only threat to their control came from massive Zeppelins that migrated south from the former Land of Spring to bring supplies to Hoshidan soldiers. However, they were slow and bulky to pose a serious problem against the steel hulls of Remnant airships. Their control over the skies came to an abrupt end on the first day of the war's third year, when a fleet of their single-seat aircrafts ambushed a small fleet of bulkheads bringing supplies and reinforcements to coalition forces bogged down in the land of swamps.

Before Ironwood could recall further about the battle that could be marked as the turning point in the war, the commandant of the air fleet swaggered over to him. If there was ever a man that the headmaster of Atlas Academy hated more than anyone else, it was the air commandant.

"Ah…James, it so good of you to stop that ridiculous witch hunt of yours and join us for this private unveiling for the top-brass before we reveal this beauty to the world." The commandant arrogantly commented as he patted Ironwood on the shoulder.

James made a mental note to have his uniform burned after this ceremony as the commandant's stupidity and arrogance had contaminated it.

"Well, a small break was in order as I wait for Major Schnee acquires the aftermath reports from the Hoshidans about the large number of massacres that our forces committed during the war." He spoke as he politely rejected a glass of Champagne that was offered to him by a waiter.

At the mentioning of the Hoshidans, the commandant gritted his teeth in anger. Those fucking yellow-skinned monkeys had tarnished the Atlesian Military's outstanding reputation by spreading false rumors and stories about atrocities being committed by Remnant forces. To make matters worse, the illusion about his air fleet being an unstoppable force had been shattered during the war by the Hoshidans' daring tactics.

"Come now, James. Surely, you don't believe that propaganda bullshit that White Fang created to turn public opinion against the war?" The angry commandant asked with a bit of forced humor.

It was common knowledge that the commandant's son had been accused of committing several actions that constituted as war crimes. If the punk was convicted, then the commandant would be forced to resign from his post in absolute disgrace. The fact that the bastard had made several racial slurs about Hoshidans in the past would make the resignation that much sweater to enjoy.

"The fact that dozens of hunters and huntresses were reported to witnessing the massacres occurring is enough to justify my investigations into the matter, commandant. The fact that your son is among the accused is the only reason that you're talking to me in the first place." James coldly answered.

Realizing that he had been called out on his effort to get his son's possible crimes overlooked, the commandant sulked away in defeat. With that pest handled, James turned his attention back onto the hanger as a spokesperson walked onto a stage that off to the side of the building. The woman stood behind a podium on the stage and tapped the microphone a few times to see if it was working.

" **May I have everyone's attention, please? May I have everyone's attention, please? The unveiling of Atlas' newest aircraft is about to begin."** The spokesperson politely asked the gathered dignitaries.

The gathered crowd hushed down and gave the spokeswoman their undivided attention as all of them wanted to see the craft that would return air superiority back to Atlas.

" **The recent war has revealed an underling weakness in the way that our mighty air fleet operates. We have grown complacent in the belief that our flying fortresses would be enough to secure control over the skies in the event that our kingdom is threaten. However, the Hoshidans have introduced a small and nimble single-seat aircraft that are capable of challenging our air supremacy. For this purpose, we have developed an interceptor that can out flying anything that they can produce at this time. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm proud to introduce F-1 Meteor."** The speaker proclaimed as the hanger doors slowly opened to reveal the aircraft that cost billions to produce.

A few feet away, the air fleet commandant was clapping like a madman at the unveiling of the craft that was designed to protect his flying fortresses from danger. Ironwood could already tell that the craft was going to be obsolete in a few years. Unless the Hoshidan were already working on something that made the straight-wing craft in front of him look like a joke. Nevertheless, a squadron of meteors could prove to be useful as a very effective anti-Grimm unit.

" _If any of the stories about Hoshidans being able to adapt quickly are true, Remnant might be facing its first international cold war."_ James thought as arrogant or ignorant officers around him were congratulating each other about the development of a jet fighter.

This was the first time that somebody had beaten Atlas in creating a new technology and it was a serious blow to the kingdom's prestige. When the first requisition forms for new bulkheads started pouring into central command, it had been a real eye-opening experience. While all of the kingdoms had developed anti-air weapons to deal with flying Grimms like Nevermores, none of them had considered developing an aircraft that was dedicated solely to destroying other aircraft.

For now, he'll want to see Hoshido's response to this newest development in aeronautics.

* * *

 **Okay, a brand new chapter has been unleashed and I hope that you guys enjoy it. Now I want to state that the F-1 Meteor that is mentioned in the chapter is based off of the Gloster Meteor** **operated by Great Britain during the Second World War. The reason I went with it was because I have yet to see a fighter craft in the RWBY series, so this led me to two conclusions about the RWBY universe. The first is they do have jet fighters, but we haven't seen them yet. And second, none of the kingdoms have seen a need to develop one for some strange reason.**

 **Here are the specifications of the Meteor:**

 **General characteristics:**

 **Crew: 1**

 **Length: 44 ft 7 in (13.59 m)**

 **Wingspan** **: 37 ft 2 in (11.32 m)**

 **Height: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m)**

 **Wing area: 350 ft² (32.52 m²)**

 **Empty weight** **: 10,684 lb (4,846 kg)**

 **Loaded weight: 15,700 lb (7,121 kg)**

 **Power plant** **: 2 ×** **turbojets**

 **Performance:**

 **Maximum speed** **: 600 mph (522 knots, 965 km/h, Mach 0.82) at 10,000 ft (3,050 m)**

 **Range** **: 600 miles**

 **Service ceiling** **: 43,000 ft**

 **Rate of climb** **: 7,000 ft per minute**

 **Wing loading** **: 44.9 lb per square foot**

 **Thrust/weight** **: 0.45**

 **Time to altitude: 5.0 min to 30,000 ft (9,145 m)**

 **Armament:**

 **Guns: 4 × 20 mm** **cannons**

 **Rockets: Provision for up to sixteen** **rockets** **under outer wings**

 **Bombs: two 1000 lb (454 kg) bombs**

* * *

 **So until next time, please leave a review.**


	17. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: Villains on the Move**

* * *

 **Somewhere in the mountains of Tsuchi no Kuni**

 **November 11, 2835**

 **1453 hours**

Lieutenant Colonel Felix Stahl was determined to take a Hoshidan outpost that prevented coalition forces from advancing deeper into Tsuchi no Kuni. Everything that he has tried in the last twelve attempts had failed miserably as the mountains negated any advantages that he had. He needed to do something and fast as his superiors were starting to get frustrated with his lack of progress. To make matters worse, a large number of the mercenaries that he hired were starting to get restless from the lack of plunder that he had promised to them.

He needed to think of something and fast before he had a mutiny on hand or worse.

"Lieutenant, do we have any white fire dust let?" He asked his aid de camp in an even voice.

If he could use direct fire with artillery, then he'll use white fire dust to burn those fucking yellow-skinned monkeys out of the canyon. They weren't human to begin with, so he wouldn't be violating any military rules or regulations with this action.

"Yes, we do. We still have about five hundred shells let of the accursed stuff. Why do you ask, sir?" The lieutenant responded with some confusion.

The white fire dust shells were strictly used to mark targets for airstrikes and nothing else. So what did his superior want with the stuff?

"Tell the artillery unit to fire the white fire dust rounds into the encampment." Stahl coldly ordered to the horror of his subordinate.

The lieutenant looked at his commanding officer in horror for ordering such a thing. This was a serious breach of military protocol that would lead to dire consequences for everyone involved, if anyone in high command found out about it.

"Sir, we can't use that stuff on soft targets for any reason-" The junior officer tried to explain in order to get the man to see reason.

Only to be cut off by Stahl, who pulled out his heavy-duty revolver from its holster and fatally shot the man in the face. The other officers were shocked at the killing of their comrade in cold blood by their commanding officers for voicing a dissenting opinion.

"Does anyone else want to voice their opinions about my orders?" Stahl questioned as he faced the rest of his junior officers.

All of them were furiously shaking their heads as they trembled in fear at the insane glee that Stahl had in his eyes.

"Good, now will someone go and carry out the order!" The Lieutenant Colonel barked out as he returned his attention to the canyon.

The remaining junior officer started scrambling over each other to carry out the order. Within thirty minutes, thirty-five artillery pieces were raining down dozens of white fire dust shells upon the Hoshidan outpost without mercy or remorse.

 **-X-X-X-X-**

Raven had half-expected to see the gruesome aftermath of white fire dust shells being used on human targets, but what she was seeing had come straight out of a nightmare. The smell of burning flesh filled with her nostrils and made her want to vomit in disgust. The sand floor of the outpost had been turned to lumps of glass as vehicles and tents burned. Occasionally, she would stumble across a wounded Hoshidan soldier that was desperately struggling to stay alive before succumbing to their fatal wounds. It was like she had stepped into the type of hell that would be waiting for her in the afterlife.

" _My god, what have we done?"_ She mentally asked as she walked passed a disemboweled sixteen-year-old boy that was crying out for his mother.

No amount of excuses or explanations could ever justify the murderous action that had been committed on this day. She had planned to speak with her daughter and try to establish a mother-daughter relationship after the war had ended. But after this incident, such a thing was no longer possible to do. The war had turned her and so many others into monsters that were far worse than any Grimm could be.

"I solemnly swear to Monty that if I survive this war, I will settle down on a farm somewhere in Vale and live out the rest of my life in solitude." The Odachi-user silently vowed as she hoped down into a trench that ran in the center of the destroyed outpost.

That's when she spotted a girl around thirteen-years-old that only had a few more minutes left before she passed away. Without any hesitation, Raven walked over to the girl and instantly became appalled by the damage that white fire dust had done. The girl's entire face had been completely burned to a crisp with only her emerald-green eyes remaining unharmed. Unburned patches of pink-colored hair dotted the girl's scalp.

"Why?" The girl weakly asked to nobody in particular.

Despite being shaken up by the girl's burnt appearance, Raven decided to answer the girl's unasked question.

"You have brought this upon yourself." She responded.

Deep down, she felt sorry for the girl as her kingdom was responsible for starting this war in the first place. If they had stopped their fellow ninja from attacking and killing the Atlesian ambassador, then none of this would have happened.

"We were helping…." The girl faintly said as she pointed towards the left side of the trench before finally expiring.

Raven's eyes widened at the serious implications of the girl's statement and the repercussion that were implied with it.

"What?! Oh ….No!" She muttered in horror as she looked towards the direction that the girl had pointing.

With some hesitation, Raven slowly started walking towards the left side of the trench. As she got closer to the end, the burning smell of human flesh being burned in large amounts started to overwhelm her. When she turned the corner to an enclosed area, the huntress was greeted with the sight of twenty to thirty people that were killed by Atlas' shelling. All of them were civilians, if their clothes were anything to go by.

"Dear Monty, I think I'm going to be sick." Raven muttered as bile started to enter her mouth from the sight and smell.

Acting on its own accord, her body walked into the carnage at a deliberate pace that was slow and steady. Some of them had their hands and feet melted into the chain-link fence with the expressions of horror permanently etched onto their faces. It was clear as day that they had been desperately tried to escape from the enclosure as the shells started falling upon them from the heavens.

" _How could reconnaissance not noticed that civilians were being sheltered at the outpost?"_ Raven mentally asked as she walked through the corpses.

She suddenly stopped in front of a particularly chilling scene that caused to her blood to freeze. In front of her was the body of a kneeling woman that was trying to comfort a small child as their final moments on this plane of existence drew near. At the sight, Raven's legs gave out and she collapsed onto her knees. She would've completely collapse if it weren't for her hands propping her up.

It was at this moment that an Atlesian soldier walked into the enclosure and let out a slow whistle at the carnage.

"Well, I know for a fact that Colonel Stahl is going to be happy about the extermination of this filth." The soldier commented with a degree of approval.

At hearing this, Raven looked at her hands and stared at them in open horror at a sudden realization. She wasn't taking part in a war to avenge the murder of a high-ranking diplomat like she had been told. In fact, the war was nothing more than a ruse for a group of high-ranking officers in Atlas to disrupt the balance of power between the four kingdoms in its favor by conquering a new land.

"What have I done?" She whispered as she stared at her hands in shock and horror.

As she stared at her hands that were covered in blood, her vision started going black and white. The last color that she would see for the rest of the war would be the red blood that was staining her hands.

* * *

 **-Present Day-**

* * *

In a hidden panic room, Felix Stahl was cowering in absolute fear as his private security force tried to repel a group of armed intruders from his estate. In his panicked mind, He wondered about the possibility of Hoshidans learning about his past misdeeds. During the war, he had authorized the looting of hundreds of temples for their decorations that were made out of precious metals. After melting everything, he placed the valuable bullion into a private account in a Mistral bank for later use.

" _Oh Monty, these barbarians are coming for my head!"_ The former colonel thought in his panicked-addled mind.

He had seen what the Hoshidans did to captured thieves and he really didn't want that to happen to him. The fact that Stahl had stolen approximately five-hundred and fifty million liens in precious metals and jewels made the entire situation worse for him. The only reason why the corrupt officer wasn't sitting in a prison cell was thanks to General Steel's political maneuvering. Unfortunately, the disgraced general was no longer in a position to protect his former right hand from retribution.

From outside of the bunker, Stahl could hear one of his security guards begging for his life before they were cut down by the intruders. When the intruders first arrived, he had dismissed them as a bunch of unclothed and ungrateful heathens with a terrible taste in clothing. Seriously, it took a special kind of idiot to wear a black cloak with red clouds in public. That opinion quickly changed after the intruders started throwing fireballs like it was nothing.

"Dear Monty, I hope that they're unable to break into this room." The corrupt man prayed as he watched on the room's security monitors as his last guard was cut in half by a man that looked like a humanoid shark.

Just then, a man walked onto the television screen and placed a hand on the plaster-covered reinforced concrete wall that separated him from the lunatics. That's when Stahl realized a very serious flaw in the surveillance system that was created by his own paranoia. There were more security cameras in the hallway surrounding the safe room than anywhere else in the mansion.

"Please, don't let them find me!" He whispered in a low voice as sweat started rolling down his brow.

Unbeknownst to the former army officer, a black and white figure with yellow eyes was slowly emerging from the ground behind him. The figure had two Venus flytrap-like extensions emerging from their sides that enveloped the head and upper body. Like the other two intruders, the figure was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but there's nowhere that I can't get to." The figure commented in a bored tone behind the frightened Stahl.

When the war between the elemental nations and Remnant kicked off, the figure hoped to use the chaos to collect the nine jinchūriki. Unfortunately, most of them had been killed by the third year of the war and now they had to wait for the bijū to reform. They also needed to recruit new members to replace the ones that were lost and gain financial backers to help fund the organization. Hence, the reasoning behind three members of the Akatsuki was visiting the former Colonel's home in Mistral.

Stahl turned around and lost all color in his face at the bizarre sight in front of him.

"W-w-what are you?" He managed to stutter out.

The black and white figure gave a nasty smile that did little to put the frightened man at ease. Unbeknownst to the corrupt man and his fellow comrades, the figure had alternate plans to what were being preached by the Akatsuki's public leadership and the shadow leadership.

"We simply want to offer a deal that will benefit you and us at the same time. All we want is a moment of your time to explain it." The figure spoke in a duel-voice.

As much as he wanted to reject the offer out of hand as he was currently being investigated by the Mistral Council for tax evasion, he was too scared by the figure's appearance to refuse.

* * *

 **At Beacon Academy**

* * *

Naruto was standing in front of his classmates as he lectured about the two main myths that centered on the creation of the fifth continent and the creation of chakra. As he had suspected, most of his fellow classmates weren't interested in learning about the fifth kingdom with a few notable exceptions. To them, the continent of Elementia was nothing more than a fledgling kingdom with no history to talk about. While that belief was partially true as Hoshido was only a few years old, its subjects had a very proud and rich history that could be dated back as far as three-thousand years ago.

" _Now I know how Iruka-sensei felt during history lessons at the academy."_ The Jinchūriki thought as he took a small breather.

Besides Doctor Oobleck and the rest of Team NNPR, the only people in the class that were showing any interest in his lecture were Blake, Ruby, and a girl with rabbit ears. All four members of Team Cardinal were playing around with their electronic scrolls. Weiss was more interested in reading a magazine that talked about the latest fashion to come out of Mistral. Yang was fast asleep as a snot-bubble was expanding and contrasting with every breath that she took. Ruby would occasionally send an apologetic look towards him before glaring angrily at her sister.

"Now then, does anyone want to take a guess what the possible relationship between the first shōgunate dynasty and the sage of six paths was?" Naruto calmly asked to the class.

Only Blake and Pyrrha were brave enough to raise their hands at the question that was being asked of them. Naruto pointed at Blake as he sent an apologetic look to Pyrrha for not choosing her.

"I think it's because the first shōgunate claimed to be related to the sage of six paths in order to legitimize their rule." Blake commented in an unsure manner.

Despite serving alongside the Hoshidans during the war, she wasn't really familiar with Elementia's history as there hadn't been enough time to do so. At the very most, she was aware of the Sage of Six Path's birthday as the Hoshidans always celebrated it on the sixth of August.

"That's correct, Blake. Members of the Ōtsutsuki clan were able to rule the continent of Elementia with an iron fist for one-hundred-and-fifty-years through this blood claim. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for them to remain in power as a combination of terrible mismanagement and a collection of natural disasters caused the daimyō to rebel against them. After a five-year struggle, the Hōjō clan managed to overthrow the last ruling Shōgun of the Ōtsutsuki clan and claim the title for themselves." Naruto explained to the uncaring class.

Before he could continue with the lecture, the school bell rang to indicate that the class period was over. Yang's snot-bubble popped as the blonde-haired bombshell woke up and let out a loud yawn as she started to stretch her arms.

"The next lecture will be focusing on the weapons that were commonly used during the pre-sage time period through the Hōjō period. I'll try to bring in modern versions of the weapons if I'm allowed to do so." Naruto called out to the class as they started to get up.

Ruby's eyes started sparklingly at hearing that he might bring weapons that were based on ones that his people used over two-thousand years ago. While the weapons would be considered archaic by today's standards as they lacked a duel function, they were still lethal tools that helped to check Remnant's advance across Elementia. Besides, it would be pretty cool to learn how they were forged without power hammers.

" _Perhaps if ask nicely, he'll let me hold and use one of them."_ Ruby thought as she started chuckling in a derange manner.

Her teammate sweat dropped at Ruby's public display of craziness and took several steps away from her as a precaution. Yang in particular was shivering in fear as she knew firsthand that her younger half-sister was a complete nut job when weapons were involved. She would need to take Ruby to the nearest weapons shop in vale after school to get her to calm down.

While this was happening, team NNPR was pretending to be blissfully unaware as they congratulated their teammate for teaching a good class.

* * *

 **Okay, a new chapter for you guys to enjoy. This chapter brings the Akatsuki into play like I had promised in an earlier chapter. They're on the hunt for new blood and support as the war devastated their ranks. I also wanted to show Orochimaru researching something for Salem that involved the Uzumaki clan, but decided against it. Finally, I have Naruto teaching about the early history of Hoshido in Doctor Oobleck's class.**

 **Now I gave the name of Elementia to the fifth continent. Before anyone comments about it having two separate names, I would like to point out that the continents that other kingdoms reside on have different names than the kingdoms. So before he became the emperor, Gōda ruled a land that had Hoshi in its name. So I figure** **The lTh** **that he had ruled a nation called Hoshi no Kuni before the war.**


	18. Author's note

**Author's Notice**

I'm posting this notice that I'm going to be rewriting Anbu Hunter into a different story as I have reread my work and saw that I made many mistakes with it. However, I will allow somebody else to adopt the story and continue it as they see fit. All I want from them is to keep the original pairing and give credit where it is do. Other than that, you are allowed to do whatever you want with the story.

In addition to the errors, I have constantly received flames from people that left anonymous reviews also played a major part in my decision to rewrite the story. This kind of thing is disgusting and nothing short of cowardice in my opinion as they dishearten writers from continuing their works. During my entire time on this site, I blocked only one writer for being a rude piece of shit to me. Hence why, I decided to turn on the guest review moderator on my profile to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.

Until next readers, Hoorah to Ashes.


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